Dead weight

The negligent practices of the transport industry pose a constant danger on the city’s roads

KARACHI:

Ahmed Parekh dedicated his life to educating people about road safety and to protesting against incidents of containers falling on other vehicles; it was all in vain. Irregularities in the transport industry and blatant disregard for safety still plague the roads of this city.

Parekh’s son, Aamir, was crushed to death on the Jam Sadiq Ali Bridge in June 2006 when a loaded container slipped off a truck and onto the top of his car, killing him and his driver on the spot. Since the incident, Parekh, a former Liaquatabad town nazim, had tried to bring about change and to reform the standards of the container-hauling business. Parekh recently breathed his last, but the transport industry continues with its negligent practices.

No locks

One of the main reasons for these containers slipping off trucks is the absence of twist locks in the vehicles carrying them. Twist locks are T-shaped strong-iron rods with nuts, and need to be used on all four corners of a truck or trailer to hold fast the container. However, some vehicles do not have these locks and so, when they turn or brake, the container slips and falls.



On paper, it is mandatory for trucks and trailers to have proper locks when they enter and leave their terminals. The reality, however, is entirely different.

Dozens of trucks and trailers enter at the main gate of the Karachi port and drive towards the Pakistan International Container Terminal (PICT), showing their documents to the security guards at the gate. “We have orders not to let any vehicle go inside the port if it does not have four twist locks but we still let them,” admitted a security guard in a green camouflage uniform. “Those without locks just pay the foreman and enter. The bribe ranges from Rs500 to Rs2,000. We get our share.”

Once inside, the trucks then head towards the terminal, where they are weighed and their documents checked. This is also where the foreman should be checking the locks but doesn’t.

The driver gets a plate that carries a container code, which he then shows the crane operator in the crane cabin. The code tells the crane operator which container to place on the vehicle. The loading foreman here should not be allowing the container onto the truck without first ensuring that the twist locks are in place, but instead, he looks the other way, with his pockets heavier to the tune of Rs2,000.

The drivers then leave the crane area and make their way towards the exit. If they are going to Afghanistan or China, they first get their vehicle trackers. Here, security personnel are once again supposed to check if the twist locks are properly placed and tightened, but since they already know that the bribe has been paid, the truck is allowed to pass through.

However, Karachi Port Trust PRO Sharik Farooqi claims that trucks are only allowed to leave if the twist locks are in place. “Once the container leaves, it is not our responsibility but within the port, our staff ensures that all locks are in place.”

“We are forced to pay bribes as we cannot fix the locks at night and most of the loading takes place at night,” said the manager of a transporting company, seeking anonymity. “Sometimes we secure them with chains, but we still have to bribe the officials, and all container terminals in the country accept bribes.”

The manager said that they tried to hire trucks that have proper bodies and locks as they were responsible for the cargo inside the container but it was not always possible.

Once the containers are out of the port, it becomes the responsibility of the traffic police to ensure that the locks are fixed. The fines they impose are, however, a mere Rs500 a pop.

The root of the problem

Twist locks are not the only preventative measure that can ensure safety. Syed Shariq Hasan, a mechanical engineer with the Automobile Corporation of Pakistan (ACP), boasts much experience in the automotive industry. According to him, there is no check on trailer manufacturing in the country, with almost all trailers being made by roadside mechanics in backstreet markets and truck-stands.

“Everyone is manufacturing trailers according to their own rules,” he said. Hasan pointed towards the substandard twist locks, the wretched brake systems, the inferior material used for the trailers’ bodies, the crude designs, the poor suspensions and the age of the vehicles pulling the trailers as the reasons why containers tumble. “The roadside manufacturers have no knowledge of the suspensions, braking systems, axles and metal quality required to make these trailers fit for the roads,” he said.

He also highlighted the condition of the roads themselves, stressing the need for a survey of sites where accidents occur frequently and their subsequent redesign.

While the ACP also makes trailers, these are more expensive than those made by the other mechanics and hence are not as popular in the market. “Our engineers have been trained by an Italian company which manufactures containers and trailers,” said Hasan. “I’m not saying we should be the only suppliers but there must be some regulations!”

While the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority and the Engineering Development Board have joined hands to specify standards for making trailers and semi-trailers, these have merely been relegated to libraries and ignored.

Imran Ustad, 55, has been in the trailer-making business since he was young. “Every mechanic here has much experience in this field,” said the owner of a workshop at the Mauripur truck-stand. “It takes a lot of time and effort even to learn the types of welding needed or how to cut these heavy iron pieces.” Though he lacks degrees or diplomas in mechanical engineering, he has still risen to the top, at least at this particular truck-stand.

While parts such as the axles are imported, the iron trolley is cut and welded here. The suspensions have their own, separate manufacturers; Ustad only makes the trolleys and attaches the axels and suspensions to them. In fact, each part of the trailer has a different expert working on it, whether it is to fit the braking system, wire up the electrical components or paint the body. Ustad himself completes the measurements and designing for each trolley, with his assistants cutting the iron and welding the pieces together to form the structure.

“We give the transporters trailers with perfect specifications, but if they do not tighten the hooks (twist locks) or if the drivers race trucks loaded with 50-tonne containers, braking them suddenly, then of course the  containers will fall over,” Ustad remarked.

Meanwhile, United Goods Carriers Association spokesperson Fazal Manan Jadoon pointed his finger at the broken-down roads in the city and throughout the country. “Everyone blames us to avoid holding themselves responsible, but the fact is that the roads here are not even fit to walk upon,” he said, adding that the potholes on Jam Sadiq Ali Bridge, Gul Bai, Mauripur Road, Sohrab Goth and the highways throw the vehicles off balance, rendering the twist locks useless or making the trailers overturn.

Admitting that nearly all of their trailers were made in truck-stand workshops, Jadoon insisted that he was satisfied with their work. “These mechanics have been in the business for decades and are experts in their field,” he maintained. “Even the factories come to them for help when they need it.”

Jadoon also said that since it is the transporters who have to bear the losses if a container slips off a trailer, they use the twist locks to secure them. “We are responsible for the damage to both the container and the cargo inside it, and every accident is a loss of two million rupees for us,” he stated. “Meanwhile, the truck carrying the container can cost anywhere from eight million to 12 million rupees, and if there is an accident, it gets damaged too. And there are always traffic police on the roads to fine us if we have no twist locks.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 2^nd, 2014.