Overloading, cause of break failures… DVLA W/Regional boss cautions…

The Western Regional Director of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority, DVLA, Emmanuel Narh has revealed that overloading on the part of drivers, causes brake fails, leading to road accidents.

According to him, drivers and car owners must ensure that the gross and net weight of cars correspond with the specified weight as stipulated by the manufacturer in order to avoid road accidents.

”Scientifically, the brake efficiency of a vehicle is affected by both the net and the gross weight of the vehicle. So as you continue using the vehicle, if you under-load the vehicle by carrying a load whose weight corresponds with the manufacturers specification as is stipulated in the manual, it will not have any adverse effect on the brakes efficiency. Conversely, if you overload the vehicle, you stretch the brakes efficiency and when you attempt to bring the vehicle to a halt, the braking system will not function as expected. In emergency situations, the braking system may even fail completely because of the excess weight on the vehicle” he explained.

Increase in road accidents.

Road accidents have seen a rise in recent times in the country. However, of the 689 deaths that were recorded in the first quarter of 2019, only 38 were recorded in the Western region. In all, 2,387 private vehicles were involved in accidents in the first quarter of 2019, a figure which represents an increase of 7.81% in terms relative to the involvement of 2,214 private vehicles in the first quarter of 2018.

Presently, 6,844 car crashes have been recorded, 11,167 vehicles involved, 1,252 fatalities and 7,043 injuries by the end of the third quarter.