New standard to make city's trucks safer
A new standard is designed to make trucks safer.
New trucks meeting the new standard.
A new standard for trucks carrying construction waste has been implemented in a bid to prevent accidents, local authorities said on Tuesday.
Trucks should feature intelligent systems and equipment, such as a terminal that can identify drivers to ensure they have received safety training and certificates and a monitoring system to supervise driver behavior, according to the Shanghai Greenery and Public Sanitation Bureau.
A 270-degree monitoring and alert system to make turning right safer is also required.
Police said a blind spot when drivers are turning right was a major cause of accidents as pedestrians and non-motorized vehicles could not be seen clearly because of the trucks’ height.
An automatic emergency braking system is also mandatory.
New vehicles must be lighter with a smaller load space under the new standard to eliminate overloading, the bureau said.
The city currently has about 6,800 trucks carrying construction waste.
"The goal is to complete the renovation and upgrade of all of them within two years to meet the new standard and about 200 have already completed the process," said Tao Zhongwei, deputy director of the Shanghai Waste Sorting Management Affairs Center.
"New vehicles transporting construction garbage are required to meet the standard," he said.
"Violations of overloading, unsealed transport that leads to garbage leaks, unlicensed operation, random disposal and accidents causing deaths are particularly targeted.”
The city has strengthened management since 2019 following a rise in traffic accidents blamed on heavy vehicles.
Since then, four companies have their construction garbage transportation licenses revoked.
Tao said that, as a result, a 20 to 30 percent drop in major violations had been witnessed year on year.
An amended version of the revoking regulations of the city's construction waste transportation companies will be implemented within the year, with stricter requirements for companies.
The tracking period of traffic accidents caused by trucks will be extended to three years instead of the current one, according to the bureau.
Inspections of transportation companies found with irregularities such as improper handling of construction waste, unsealed transportation, licensing problems, overloading and traffic accidents will be strengthened.
Scoring and award mechanisms have also been established to regulate the market and the public is encouraged to report any irregularities.
