Motorists travelling along Avenida León Febres-Cordero Ribadeneyra in the canton of Daule are reporting dangerous driving by truck operators, including constant lane changes, speeding, and manoeuvres that force other drivers to brake suddenly.
The avenue connects the La Aurora parish with Guayaquil and is one of the main arteries in the area. Heavy vehicles are permitted to travel at up to 60 kilometres per hour on this stretch, while the limit for light vehicles is 90 km/h and for urban buses 70 km/h.
During a visit to the road on Tuesday 28 July, this publication observed four heavy vehicles change lanes repeatedly within five minutes, moving from the left lane to the right and then to the centre lane to overtake other vehicles. In some cases the trucks occupied two lanes simultaneously while completing the manoeuvre.
Residents describe close calls
Daniela Ricaurte, who uses the avenue daily to get to work, said she had witnessed incidents caused by truck drivers near La Aurora, including a trailer that struck a motorcyclist's wing mirror. She said many of the drivers did not respect lane markings and were constantly trying to overtake.
Fellow regular driver Eduardo Torres said the most common violation was changing lanes carelessly, regardless of whether another vehicle was approaching, forcing other motorists to stop. Torres also said he had noticed some truck cabs travelling without visible licence plates or with registration plates obscured by dirt and mud, which he believed was deliberate to avoid penalties.
Aurora Carcelén, another daily user of the avenue, said small-car drivers had to stay constantly alert because heavy vehicles appeared from nowhere and cut across at any moment. She said she had seen trucks cut in front of one another in what looked to her like a competition.
Taxi driver Pablo Opalo, who regularly serves residential developments along the route, said he always kept his distance from the trucks and had observed them travelling above the speed limit. Harvey Valencia said the most dangerous manoeuvres tended to occur between 05:30 and 06:00, when there was still little light-vehicle traffic, with several trucks passing as though taking part in a race.
Alejandro Cisneros recalled an incident on Monday 27 July when a truck overtook him as he pulled out of his residential complex and nearly pushed his car off the road. He called on drivers to exercise greater caution on that stretch.
Urban growth seen as a factor
Ricaurte linked part of the problem to the rapid residential development La Aurora has experienced in recent years. She said the avenue was originally designed for heavy freight traffic, but the fast pace of construction had changed the flow of vehicles without any corresponding changes to road infrastructure.
She said she hoped the construction of a fifth bridge, promoted by the national government, would help relieve congestion on roads including the Perimetral and Avenida León Febres-Cordero.
