Tipper lorries strike terror on Pathanamthitta roads

Two pedestrians fatally trapped under overturned lorries

Tipper lorries and other heavy vehicles are posing a major threat to pedestrians and motorists on the roads of Pathanamthitta district. Road accidents have claimed many lives and left many seriously injured of late.

Speeding and drunk driving are to be primarily blamed for the accidents. Two pedestrians were killed and three others injured in two separate incidents involving speeding tipper lorries in the district on Wednesday alone.

In one case, a speeding tipper lorry had knocked down a pedestrian and crashed into a residential compound at Ezhumattoor on the Mallappally-Cherukolpuzha road around 3.45 a.m.

Local people came to know about the man fatally trapped beneath the lorry only late in the morning.

Another earth-laden tipper lorry had knocked down a pedestrian and tumbled into a wayside ditch, leaving the victim buried under the loose earth from the overturned vehicle.

The villagers came to know of the pedestrian trapped beneath the lorry only after a few hours.

P.D. Sunilbabu, Special Officer of Safe Kerala project, and P.D. Sukumaran, former Deputy Transport Commissioner, are of the opinion that the rising number of road accidents is due to rash driving by drivers of private and KSRTC buses, tipper lorries, and other heavy vehicles.

‘Road is for all’

“All road users should remember that road is to be shared amongst all and that they should abide by the traffic rules and signals,” they said. “In Kerala, more than half of the road accident victims are in the age group of 20 to 55 years, the key wage-earning and child-raising age group. The loss of the breadwinner in the household due to death or disability can be catastrophic, leading to lower living standards and even poverty,” Mr. Sukumaran said.