Racing bikes should not turn into killing machines

Parents who are forced and threatened to buy advanced bikes for their sons do not know the stunts these kids exhibit on public roads. The bike accident that took place near Thiruvallam on Sunday morning was one of those. The innocent housewife who was crossing the road was not the only one who lost her life after being hit by a speeding bike. Twenty-four-year-old Arvind, who was riding the bike, also lost his life. The body of the housewife named Sandhya was crushed due to the impact of the racing bike worth twelve lakh rupees. The bike overturned and the youngster who was riding it was dragged on the road for more than half a kilometer. He was admitted to the hospital with serious injuries and died in the evening.

It is better to not talk about the loss caused to the family due to the sudden death of fifty-three-year-old Sandhya, who was doing household work to earn an income to repay the loan taken to buy a house. Similarly, it is the only child of the parents who died in the accident. How many precious lives are lost in such road accidents in the state every day? There are many places in the state where the wide roads have become places for the youth to compete and prove their mettle. This kind of racing is done even in the presence of law enforcers. Throwing traffic rules to the winds and risking their own lives, youths who ride two-wheelers in a frenzy of excitement are creating havoc for the passers-by on the road. It is said that there are surveillance cameras along the roads. The cameras at the incident spot have been out of action for two weeks.

Someone dumping rubbish on the roadside and setting it on fire is the reason that cameras too are out of order. Signal lights were not working here for the past two weeks. In the wake of the accident that took the lives of two people, action may be taken. It seems that for anything to happen here, there has to be a disaster like this. The law prohibits bike racing or similar exercises on public roads. A maximum speed has also been fixed for two-wheelers. But even on very congested city roads, they run too fast. Traffic rules are strict but people are reluctant to follow them. Nowhere else would you see such a high number of traffic violations.

The vehicle tests here are limited to helmets, seat belts, and pollution test certificates. What is needed is a procedure to catch violators and punish them with heavy fines. The current status of the plan to install surveillance cameras across the state to detect traffic violators immediately is unknown. In any case, even with no end to the chaos in the public streets, there will be no one who does not want to see at least some control being brought to the same.