Road accidents take place in big cities almost every day. Sometimes, these accidents prove to be fatal. Two main factors responsible for road accidents are heavy traffic on roads and rash driving. Normally, it is cyclists and motor cyclists who are the victims of such accidents. Sometimes, pedestrians are also killed in these accidents.
Delhi is the capital of India. It is a very crowded city. The traffic on its roads has increased so much that it often becomes very difficult to cross a road. During the peak hours of the day, we find an unending stream of buses, trucks, cars, tempos, scooters, motor-cycles and cycles. The drivers of the vehicles do not observe traffic rales. They try to overtake one another.
The reckless drivers of buses and tracks are in the habit of drinking. Under the influence of liquor they indulge in rash driving. They drive their vehicles at top speed. They do not observe speed limits. They cause road accidents. Sometimes they themselves become the victims of such accidents.
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Three-wheeler drivers neither drive carefully nor pay any attention to traffic rules. They drive at high speeds even in small lanes. When they turn turtle, passengers travelling in such auto-rikshaws get injured.
Students are also responsible for road accidents. They drive their scooters and motor cycles at great speed. They do not care to wear crash helmets. Very often they are involved in fatal accidents.
Last Sunday, I saw a very tragic accident. I was waiting for Bus No. 518 at Tilak Nagar to go to Lodhi Road. It was 9.45 A.M. There was a heavy rush of buses, trucks, cars, taxis, scooters, etc. On the road everyone seemed to be in a hurry to reach his place of work in time. Horns were being blown by one and all. There was a lot of noise. It was a maddening scene.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of a big crash. A heavily-loaded truck had tried to overtake a fast running DTC bus and collided with it. The track had also knocked down two scooterists. All this happened so suddenly that I could not understand what had happened.
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The traffic on the road came to a grinding halt. A number of people collected at the site of the accident. The driver of the track was badly injured. The scooterists had received head injuries and were lying unconscious on the road. A few passengers sitting on the front seats of the DTC bus had also received injuries.
A shopkeeper informed the police on the phone about this road accident. A flying squad of the police reached the spot within a few minutes. First of all, they took a photograph of the place of the accident. Then they rushed the injured people to Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. One of the injured was declared brought dead. The condition of the other two was described as serious. Others were allowed to go home after first aid.
The police placed the driver of the truck under arrest and charged him with negligent and rash driving. He was found to be dead drunk. The police took down the statements of some eyewitnesses. Thus one person lost his life and two others sustained serious injuries due to the fault of a reckless driver. It was a tragic accident.
