Bizarre-looking crashes and traffic incidents aren’t uncommon in our country. Many a time, these are caused by reckless driving or stupid manoeuvring practices by the people involved. Roads and the traffic around may not be the best to blame in such cases. A recent incident from Kerala shows just the same. A biker got stuck between two buses and had a narrow escape from getting crushed. A video of the same was shared on social media.
The footage shows a biker stuck between two buses somewhere in Kerala. Going by the motorcycle’s number plate, the incident could be from Calicut. The vehicle involved is a TVS Raider. The video shows very few details of the context or things that happened before and after the filmed few seconds. But, there is enough for us to assume and do our math on.
The biker is seen wearing what looks like his office attire. He must have been in a hurry and could have decided to attempt the impossible. Two buses- wearing Green and Blue paint, were standing next to each other, with very little gap in between- possibly at a signal or in a traffic jam. The biker could have attempted to get ahead of the public carriages through the tiny gap between them. You and I know how difficult it could get sometimes to overtake a bus, and how desperate the same could make people!
The motorcyclist here seems to have gone through the same frustration and attempted to sneak into the gap and make it to the front. But what conveniently skipped his mind was the bus driver’s blind spots. It is difficult for the driver to see the extreme rear end of the bus and a few other areas in between. Here, The biker was prone to double the risk, as two buses were involved.
Soon, he reached the point where there was no more gap for his motorcycle to make it to the other end without scraping on either of the vehicles. He could not make a U-turn either. The video shows him in this miserable position. Overconfidence and over-smartness of the biker are to be blamed in this case.
He, however, had a narrow escape from being crushed- thanks to the skillful bus drivers, and alert passengers. Both of them worked hand-in-hand to carefully maneuver the buses, and make way for the biker to bail out of danger. At some point, we see him almost touching the Blue bus. This incident had a happy ending- truly an unexpected one- as the motorcyclist made it out without a scratch.
Trying to squeeze into extremely tight spaces and inviting danger has become a common practice with bikers. People can be seen doing this in slow-moving traffic and on open roads. Most of them compromise not just their safety, but those of other motorists and pedestrians around. Like in this case, the vehicle (s) that the biker tries to overtake or squeeze in between, cannot be blamed for any mishaps that may follow. This is because in most cases, the biker will be in the blind spot for the other drivers.
Modern cars and SUVs have blind-spot monitors and warnings built into them. These are highly useful in Indian road scenarios where motorists such as this, exist. At least the drivers of these vehicles will be warned by alarms or visuals whenever such a biker tries to sneak into their blind spots. Early warning and prompt action can make big differences in such cases.