Dangerous riding manners have no place on our roads

(l to r) Sunny and Karan Pawar and (far right) Ayli Chavan

In a huge tragedy, two brothers and their cousin riding three up on a bike died after their vehicle slipped and they fell off from a bridge. A report in this paper said that the three had gone to Boisar recently, to sell the national flag for Republic Day.

The police said that the bike was speeding, it slipped and the youngsters were thrown off it from the bridge. The heartbroken family claimed that a truck hit the bike.

Whatever be the truth, one's heart goes out to the grieving relatives, who lost their children in atragedy of an unimaginable magnitude.

We want to warn bikers not to ride three on a bike, or four, five, like we see here, as this makes controlling the vehicle very difficult.

This is not to place blame on any particular individual but to point to a larger trend where we see individuals riding three and four up on bikes with the rider quite sure he will be able to get them safely to their destination.

Accidents of overloaded vehicles though, show us that this confidence can be deceptive.

Moreover, with pillion riders not wearing a helmet, it is certain that three and four riding behind will not do so either. We see children standing on the front of a scooter, being taken to school or on family outings. The most common scenario is three persons on a bike, and the fourth, a small child, standing in front.

Those who are hauled up by cops tell the police that they are not being humane by apprehending them for riding in that manner and that they cannot afford a car.

This should not cut it. Be practical, and one takeaway from the pandemic is, safety is above all. Apply it to all aspects of life.