Overloading Contributed To Vunicuicui Hill Accident: FRA CEO

Fiji Roads Authority Chief Executive Officer, Kamal Prasad, has clarified that the Vunicuicui Hill accident in Siberia Road, Labasa involving a sugarcane carting truck was a result of overloading and other mechanical issues.

The CEO has called on sugarcane truck drivers to only carry the approved weight limit allocated for cane trucks.

The accident happened at mid- day on June 24, 2022.

Mr Prasad refuted claims made by the truck owner, Vinesh Chandra that the accident was caused by the steep incline and poor road condition that led to the truck rolling downhill.

He said overloading remained the major concern for the authority as buses, cane trucks, tractors and other vehicles had no issues on the said hilly road after the sealing works in 2019.

FRA had already sealed the hill section in 2019 under their Traction Sealed Programme.

“We along with the Commissioner Northern’s Office have received few requests from the sugarcane farmers, advisory councillors, Sugarcane Growers Council and other concerned parties regarding bypass options for the area,” he said.

Area Advisory Councillor, Suresh Kumar, says an alternative bypass would ease the flow of traffic to the Vunicuicui hill road.

“When a bypass is developed, the risk of accidents will decline as well with sugarcane carting trucks opting for bypass access,” he said.

Mr Chandra said sugarcane farmers were always challenged with the transportation of sugar cane to the Labasa mill.

He claimed that other farmers also had their trucks veered off the road because of the inclined hill road.

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