A reflective tape pasted on a car in Patna; (above) tapes on sale at a roadside shop. Pictures by Ashok Sinha

Travel at night could soon get safer with carts and tractors donning reflective tapes.

Experts claim that these tapes would be helpful in minimising the possibility of accidents at night.

“Traffic rules prescribe that the vehicle’s tail lamp should be switched on when parked on the roadside at night or the parking lights should be kept on blink mode. However, such rules are seldom followed. The reflective tapes, however, are visible from more than 500m away. Quite often, accidents occur because stationary vehicles are parked along the roadside without any reflectors,” said Wing Commander (retd) Narendra Kumar, honorary secretary, Automobile Dealers’ Association of Bihar.

Narendra has also appealed to the transport department to make reflectors mandatory for carts and tractors, as these vehicles are often parked on the roadside without any indicative lights.

Vehicles will have to be pasted with the tapes providing long-distance visibility and high-standard reflectivity. The transport department issued a directive in the first week of June to district transport officials (DTOs) to take action under the provision of Central Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, against violators.

“Reflective tapes are mandatory for all vehicles by Rule No. 104 of Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989. The ministry of road transport and highways, through a notification dated July 22, 2010, asked all state governments to ensure implementation of the rule. Accordingly, the transport department has issued a letter to all DTOs and the Patna branch of Automobile Dealers’ Association to make sure that directive is complied with,” said a senior officer of the department.

According to the prescribed standards, vehicles should be pasted with white tape on the front fender and red tape on the back. Yellow tapes should also be pasted on both sides of the car.

The tapes can be bought from automobile spare parts and accessory shops in the city. The average cost of an authorised reflective tape for a four-wheeler comes is Rs 200.

A pollution control drive has also been started in the city. Of 5,958 vehicles checked between June 24 and July 3, 296 were found exceeding the permissible mark.

“We have collected Rs 3,46,000 from vehicles found with higher pollution emission level. The pollution drive is being conducted according to the directive of the transport department secretary. The department has also provided gas analysers and smoke meters to officials. We are initially focusing on commercial vehicles, including autorickshaws and buses,” said Dinesh Kumar Rai, DTO, Patna.

According to Section 190(2) of the Central Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, vehicles found with higher-than-permissible emission level can be fined Rs 1,000. Rai added that action is also being taken against vehicle pollution checking centres found issuing certificates in violation of rules.