When it comes to accidents, it is always the driver of the bigger vehicle who bears the brunt. The cyclist and even motorcyclists, for that matter, go scot-free. It is interesting to note that motorcyclists are also doing what these poor bicyclists do on the road, by way of U turns and swerving in unexpected ways and most of the heavy vehicles that get involved in accidents are forced to shoulder the responsibility.
Under normal circumstances, not many bother to investigate and find out what a particular motorcyclist or cyclist did, to make the driver of the heavy vehicle turn left or right, leading to an accident. When we focus on these bicycles, the problem takes a greater magnitude. Bicycles are so silent in their movement that they come and get people killed as silently as death itself, so silently that the person who gets killed does not even get a whiff that this ineffectual vehicle could cost him his very life.
A large number of school children these days depend on various types of bicycles to get to their schools. It is a matter of great concern that they happen to go through their school life without knowing the fundamentals of road safety. Statistics on road accidents show that, out of a hundred accidents that happen in the suburban and semi-urban areas, careless and casual cyclists, who go hither and thither on their way to their destinations, cause 20 percent of those accidents. They simply take twists and turns – sometimes ‘U’ turns and sometimes even ‘W’ turns – so unexpectedly that the unsuspecting motorist, say a car driver, out of his instinct, not to hurt anyone, is forced to negotiate his vehicle out of panic, ending up in accidents, killing and injuring many, including himself.
Another shocking and suicidal behavior shown by both cyclists and motorcyclists is keeping to the right on highways. They feel that it is all right to keep to the right on highways as highways are wide and it is difficult for them to cross the highway so as to get to the left side. In the event of an eventuality, will a speeding car or truck driver save his life by hitting the person on the wrong side or save the person on the wrong side and get himself killed? Most of the time, the latter is the option, and the motorist, out of panic, tries to save the cyclist or motorcyclist, and meets with fatal serial collisions. This has happened many times and this will continue to happen again on our roads. Therefore, it is high time we did something to make cyclists and other two wheel riders more responsible and law-abiding on the roads.