Rash riding is one of the major causes of accidents in India. And in most cases, it is always the driver of the bigger vehicle who is accused of driving rashly on the roads. If you have spent enough time on the Indian roads, it is almost certain that you have come across such rash motorists on the road. Here is one more such example of a rash rider on a scooter who got saved by a whisker by the alert truck driver. Here is what happened.
The incident happened on a busy crossing in Kerala and was captured in the CCTV facing the road. The video moving traffic with a small circle with hoardings in the middle of the road. In the video, the vehicles can be spotted moving all around and a truck entering the frame to take a left turn after the circle. A scooter rider coming from the same lane from where the truck came enters the frame at a high speed and in a bid to overtake other vehicles, he cuts through the turn, tries to take a short cut in the wrong way.
However, a pedestrian, who was also crossing the road at the same time does not spot him as no vehicle should be coming from that side of the road. By the time the pedestrian stops after looking at the scooter, it was too late. The scooter hits the pedestrian and slides on the road. It falls right in front of the truck – but luckily the truck driver sees him and applies the brakes. Or he would have just run over the rider.
The visibility from such heavy vehicles like trucks and buses is extremely poor. Because of their hefty size, the drivers cannot look what is lying just ahead of them or just beside them. This is why it is always a good idea to maintain a healthy distance from such heavy vehicles and never drive or ride beside them on the highways.
Since the accident happened in close proximity, the truck driver must have got alerted by the noise and applied the brake. Also, since the truck was taking a turn, it was moving at a slow speed, which is why it could come to stop so quickly. Heavy vehicles carry more momentum and that’s why they take longer than normal to come to a complete stop. And it is a good thing that no one was riding too close behind the truck either – the sudden stop would have sent them crashing into the back of the truck.
This is why everyone should always follow the rules and never try to take shortcuts and wrong way on the public roads. Also, it is extremely important to understand the importance of maintaining distance from heavy vehicles on the roads.