Safety regulations questioned after truck hits Istanbul overpass

Aziz Özen / Burak Coşan ISTANBUL

AA Photo

Questions have been raised over the safety regulations regarding trucks following a Sept. 3 accident in which a truck hit an overpass in Istanbul, killing one person.

Although is a defined standard for the operation of dump trucks, according to the Standards Institute (TSE), primary bodies that check the vehicles before they hit the road fail to follow these regulations. 

According to the norms that the TSE set out in 2010, these trucks must have systems limiting their speed to 10 kilometers per hour when their dumps are raised, as well as visual or audio warning systems. The vehicle inspection stations or traffic registration offices, however, allow those vehicles to operate in traffic without these systems, experts said.

Fehir Bulutlar, the deputy head of the Trailer Producers Association, said there was no obligation in the laws and regulations for the dump trucks to possess the warning systems although some companies do produce them.

Cemal Gökçe, head of the Chamber of Civil Engineers’ Istanbul branch, said there was also problems with the construction of the overpass, as it should have not collapsed with the impact of a truck.
The Chamber of Mechanical Engineers’ Istanbul branch also issued a statement calling on authorities to properly audit vehicles and ensure safety.

“The Science and Technology Ministry, which is the supreme body regarding vehicle production in the country, and the TSE should ask production companies to take the highest safety measures and inspect them,” the statement read.

The chamber also underlined missing audits on security regulations regarding dump trucks, as well as a lack of fire warning systems, adding that it was ready to take charge in the audit process for better conditions if necessary.

More truck accidents

Meanwhile, two trucks crashed early on Sept. 4 in the Bolu Tunnel when the two drivers lost control of their vehicles. The tunnel was closed to traffic as one of the trucks caught fire. Firefighting teams were dispatched to the scene and extinguished the blaze. No other casualties were reported.

An earth-moving truck also crashed into safety fences in Istanbul on the TEM highway toward Ankara on Sept. 3. The parts of the truck were driven away, after another truck that could not stop hit the dumper of the earth-moving truck lying on the road. The earth-moving truck’s driver fled the scene, while the other driver was taken to hospital.