We find news of auto accidents almost everyday in newspapers with gory photographs. Most of these accidents result when autos collide with heavily-loaded cargo trucks while negotiating risky curves on our rustic roads during the early hours of the day. Most of the poor and middle-class villagers commute to neighbouring small towns by auto rickshaws as they still consider them to be an affordable means of transport.
The auto rickshaw, if it carries the mandatory number of passengers, the auto fare would have been beyond their means. A mere decade ago, after all, auto was considered as a poor man’s taxi. It is not uncommon to find ten adult passengers sitting in awfully awkward postures in these ubiquitous vehicles, meant to carry four passengers, moving at alarming speeds on our ill-laid suburban roads.
In the early hours of the day, most of the daily wage earners travel by these light-weight autos to reach their workplaces, and become vulnerable to accidents. Even a veteran truck driver, who has been on his job for almost the whole night, might turn sleepy for a moment and lose control on his vehicle. It is time that our law-enforcing authorities to find ways and means to stop overloaded autos to ply on roads, and develop awareness among public about the risks involved in this type of transport.
