Sheer negligence to blame for tragic death in Bandra

Shreechand Asrani, 40, the victim

A 40-year-old Bandra resident lost his life after a heavy object dropped from a speeding truck and hit him, according to a report in this paper. The tragedy occurred very early in the morning when the resident was out for a walk. The report also quoted the police as saying that the driver of the truck had lost control of the vehicle and hit a tree. The impact of the crash caused the material to get dislodged. The Bandra police have arrested the trucker for negligent driving. The deceased's family is in a state of shock and grief and is still trying to process his passing.

It is a shocking death, and the tragedy is compounded because it is sheer negligence. Material like this has to be secured to the vehicle. It has to be closed in, and if at the top, needs to be tied very well and tightly. Trucks and lorries must bear only as much material as can be carried in a proper manner.

Owners, contractors and drivers cannot and should not overload trucks. We are not even touching upon safe driving as that is a given. What is important is how material is carried or transported. We have so many instances where we actually witness lorries carrying goods in a haphazard and hazardous way. Prime amongst which are iron/steel rods that are poking out of the vehicle. They are not enclosed and there is no warning too, that vehicles behind must keep some extra distance. There is usually a cloth tied to a pole, as a ‘warning'. Yet, this is a criminal way to carry these poles.

Life seems cheap in this country or metropolis. People fall into manholes whose covers have been removed or broken, they fall off places because barricades are not in place or damaged and are even killed this way as they are on a morning walk. Absolutely abysmal and shameful, this.