Caution: Two-Wheeler Riders! Sand/Grit covered City Roads Ready to KILL You?

Caution: Two-Wheeler Riders! Sand/Grit covered City Roads Ready to KILL You?

Mangaluru: I have said that in the past in my reports that “When it comes to the SAFETY of the motorists or pedestrians Mangaluru City Corporation Officials nor the District Administration Authorities nor the City Police Department honchos are LEAST bothered about”- and their attitude still continues, while we look at the various safety-related civic and traffic issues. The safety issue that this report going to covering us about the Sand/Gravel/Mud/Grit ridden Mangaluru City Roads, which are putting the lives of motorists in dire danger, especially Two-Wheeler riders.

Hi, in addition to the numerous problems we already have on road and road works in Mangaluru, I want to bring an attention to the huge amount of mud and sand scattered on all roads in Mangaluru, due to the recent rains that have been pounding on the City. It may seem the lowest in the priority of MCC or for that matter, the company namely Antony Waste Handling Ltd, to clean it up, using one of their mega road sweeping truck. But it seems like no one is doing their job, and in the meantime, two-wheeler riders have been skidding and breaking their limbs and bones, due to the utter negligence of the Civic body.

Sand, gravel and other mud particles flown onto to the road from the drainage/gutters and also from the construction site storage yard due to the recent rains have made many parts of the City roads slippery, usually at the curve or turning spots-resulting in many riders skid and fall. The entire city looks dusty and in some way it also adds to the stress to everyone. Sources reveal that the most frequent collision type was skid or rollover making up 60.9% of cases. Male victims were younger than female victims and were over represented among motorized two-wheeler users,“ the study revealed, adding that the mishaps occurred mostly during dark evening hours and night time. And when our roads are covered with sand etc which is not noticeable at night {since most of the areas in the City have street lights not working half the time}, and this is where we see two-wheeler accidents.

Since I am into a media profession and those who are familiar in this field would know that this requires a lot of travel, in order to cover the events and stories. And 95% of my travel as a journo is on road, and I use my scooter for my conveyance. But something that always scares me is when I move around on the City on my two-wheeler road are the hazardous roads which could take away the lives of motorists, especially two wheeler riders. And then there are those reckless drivers and riders who don’t even think of their kith and kin at home, speed over the said limit, and put their lives and others lives in harm.

I do see there are few automatic cleaning vehicles which operate at will, operated by the MCC garbage hauling company. But sometimes I have noticed the driver behind the wheel of this sweeper truck is trying to clean just because he needed to log his hours and less to do with clearing up the dust/sand. Bad when these grit covered roads are not cleaned regularly, it’s very dangerous for motorcyclists. If you’re riding along and suddenly you’re making a left turn or a right turn and you get into this, what we call pea gravel or sand, it can wash out the back end of your two-wheeler and next thing you know you’re doing a high side ad you could be seriously hurt. The grit is almost like riding on tiny ball bearings, and it’s really slippery.

Then we have our young “stunt” riders just flying around on the road on their bikes, some wearing nothing but sunglasses. What if a stray dog runs across? or there is sand on the road? And in a city like ours, there is always a possibility of someone walking out of the blue and crossing the road-then these high speed young two wheelers are always at risk. There have been quite a few accidents when riders have lost control and fallen off from their bikes due to these sand/grit ridden roads- but since no one is complaining nor they get treatment at hospital, the city officials wouldn’t know about these hazardous roads.

In conclusion, it’s about time that MCC officials and traffic police take quick action and see that these hazardous roads covered with sand/mud/grit are cleaned off, before few more accidents take place. And also warn the builders not to stock up the sand/mud/building materials at the construction, very close to the road-since they get washed away onto to the road when it rains. Hope the concerned authorities will do the needful-Thank You!