Cars, trucks to sport reflective strips

All four-wheelers, buses and trucks will soon sport fluorescent retro-reflective marking strips on the bonnet and dickey, if the Regional Transport Office’s (RTO) proposal becomes a decision, reports HT Correspondent.

All four-wheelers, buses and trucks will soon sport fluorescent retro-reflective marking strips on the bonnet and dickey, if the Regional Transport Office’s (RTO) proposal becomes a decision.

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“We proposed to make multi-coloured reflective strips compulsory in our last meeting that took place four months ago. We will discuss it before taking a decision,” said Deepak Kapoor, state transport commissioner.

The state transport department said pasting these fluorescent strips on vehicles will help reduce the number of accidents, especially on highways.

Maharashtra has recorded the highest number of accidents in the country — 89,712 — in 2008, the state transport department said.

According to the department’s proposal, a white strip will be stuck on the bonnet, a red one on the dickey and yellow ones on the sides of the vehicle — just above the tyres.

Even new vehicles will have to sport these strips, and the cost will be borne by the buyer.

“These strips will help drivers at night as they will reflect light emitted from the headlights of a vehicle coming from the opposite direction,” said an RTO official, requesting anonymity.

Currently, most tourist vehicles have red fluorescent strips on dickeys.