Panaji: From next month, reflective tapes will be fitted on transport vehicles across Goa to make buses, trucks, taxis, goods carriers, and other commercial vehicles more visible at night and reduce the risk of accidents. In July alone, 590 accidents took place at night, compared with nearly 900 during the day.The directorate of transport issued a notice on Tuesday and initiated the process to enable empanelled agencies to execute the task.“The reflective material is important in situations where vehicles are parked on roadsides or are travelling in poorly lit conditions, making them difficult for approaching motorists to spot,” a transport official said. “By reflecting the light from approaching headlights, the tapes make the outline and presence of a vehicle more clearly visible from a distance, giving other road users more time to react.”The official said that the exercise could involve an estimated 2–3 lakh vehicles in Goa as the implementation progresses.The transport department has invited applications from authorised distributors and agencies for integrated vehicle visibility enhancement and compliance assurance in the state, with a deadline of Sep 19. The department expects the fitment programme to begin next month, subject to tender completion and appointment of authorised agencies.
