Keeping ourselves safe is entirely our responsibility

Representational images. Pic/iStock

A number of crashes and accidents recently, hold varied lessons in road safety. A 23-year-old pillion rider fell off a motorcycle and was crushed to death under the wheels of a mini bus in Kandivli. The CCTV footage showed that the two-wheeler entered the wrong lane of a highway.

In another incident, a woman riding pillion on a motorbike died after her ‘dupatta' got entangled in a wheel of a two-wheeler in Maharashtra's Palghar district. She was strangulated and fell from the two-wheeler. She was severely injured and declared dead at a hospital.

In another accident, two people were killed and four injured when a speeding container truck overturned, jumped the divider and collided with five cars on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.

In the first incident, a rider entered the wrong lane of the highway. Across the city, we see bikers jumping signals as if the lights are meant only for cars and trying to squeeze into one-way lanes or actually riding in the opposite direction. This is hazardous and extremely dangerous. This needs to be tackled urgently.

In the second extremely tragic incident, we learn that it is vital women especially keep their dupatta out of the way, riding pillion. They need to be careful even if wearing a sari. In fact, both men and women also need to be cautious carrying bags with a long sling handle on a mo'bike. Just as one sits on the bike, make sure that anything that can potentially get entangled in the wheel, loose flowy material, or even something one is carrying is out of the way, so that there is no danger of it getting caught and the rider falling.

Finally, speed kills we here that so many times, but at times people just do not learn. Lives lost and families shattered because of out-of-control driving. Put the brakes on not just your car but this wild and irresponsible need for speed.