Twenty-year-old Latha was on her way to college on Tuesday, riding pillion on her brother’s motorcycle, when a truck hit them at Muthanallur Cross in Sarjapur, killing her on the spot. Another motorcyclist Prashanth, 23, a security guard returning home from work, was also killed in the accident.
Accidents involving two-wheelers appear to be taking place at a disturbing regularity in the city. A total of 1,202 accidents involving two-wheelers have been registered during January and February 2014.
Even though four-wheelers were involved in 1,495 accidents during the first two months of this year, the fatalities were less compared to two-wheelers. Out of the 127 fatal road accidents till February end this year, 31 involved two-wheelers, claiming 34 lives. Accidents involving two-wheelers accounted for 189 injuries during the period.
Similarly, in 2013, as many as 140 two-wheeler riders were killed and another 1,152 riders injured.
“Vehicles here pass so close to each other that we have to be extremely alert,” says Bhavana G. (21), who regularly commutes on a two-wheeler.
According to police statistics, 69 per cent of vehicles on the city’s roads are two-wheelers, one of the highest among cities in the country.
Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) B. Dayanand said two-wheelers tend to be most involved in fatal accidents as they manoeuvre their way through small gaps in traffic. He said the police are conducting checks on various violations by the riders.
“Over the last 20 days we have been conducting checks for riding without helmets and have registered 25, 000 cases,” he said.
Mr. Dayanand also said riding on footpaths, which is a threat to pedestrians, has become a menace.
“The drive against riding on footpaths has been going on for a year but we have intensified it now. Any person caught riding a two-wheeler on the footpath will have their license seized following which it will be sent to the RTO for suspension on the first violation itself.” So far, 1,219 cases have been booked this year.
