Ahmedabad’s peak-hour ban on heavy vehicles is reportedly being violated by speeding dumpers on major urban roads, raising fresh concerns about road safety, traffic enforcement and the protection of commuters during the city’s busiest hours.
According to a report by Sandesh, heavy vehicles are restricted from entering parts of the city between 8 am and 11 am, when schools, colleges and offices generate intense traffic movement. The report alleges that dumpers continue to enter busy corridors during this period despite the no-entry rule.
The locations identified in the report include SG Highway, approach roads leading into the city from SP Ring Road, and major routes in eastern and western Ahmedabad. The report says dumpers have been seen travelling at high speed on these roads, including in areas where traffic police are present at signals and circles.
Sandesh, citing figures described as being recorded in official records, reported that more than 20 people a year have died in dumper-related crashes in Ahmedabad over the past year. It also said that dozens of people have suffered permanent disabilities. The report attributed many of the incidents to speeding, unsafe overtaking and blind spots around heavy vehicles, particularly affecting two-wheeler riders and pedestrians.
The reported safety risk is linked not only to driver behaviour but also to how heavy-vehicle restrictions are monitored and enforced. Dumpers have large blind spots and require longer stopping distances than smaller vehicles, making interactions with two-wheelers and pedestrians especially dangerous on crowded city roads. The supplied report says residents have repeatedly raised complaints but alleges that enforcement has often been limited to issuing routine notices.
The report has also questioned how heavy vehicles are entering urban roads during the notified no-entry period when restrictions are supposed to be in force. It raises questions about whether traffic personnel have sufficient systems to identify and stop violators, whether enforcement is consistent across entry routes, and whether penalties are strong enough to deter repeat violations. Allegations of an undeclared arrangement between dumper operators and officials were raised in the report but were not independently established in the supplied material.
The issue places responsibility on both traffic enforcement agencies and the wider administration to clarify how the peak-hour restriction operates, which roads and vehicle categories it covers, and how violations are recorded. It also brings attention to the need for transparent accident data, visible enforcement at entry points and clear action against vehicles found violating the restriction.
Sandesh’s report did not provide a fresh statement from Ahmedabad traffic police or city authorities on the reported violations, fatalities or proposed enforcement measures. The immediate public-interest question is therefore whether the administration will publish an account of enforcement during the 8 am to 11 am window and specify the next steps for preventing dumper-related crashes on the city’s busiest roads.
