Tamil Nadu - Erode   

Erode police launch drive to ensure cyclists' safety

Staff Reporter

ERODE: Bicyclists have once again come under the police scanner, this time not for their violations but vulnerability on road. To ensure their safety the Erode police have launched a drive.

"Bicyclists being the most vulnerable section of road users, we have launched a programme to enhance their safety," says Sonal V. Misra, the Superintendent. What has necessitated the move is the increase in accidents involving them.

According to figures available with the police, more than one cyclist is killed in road accident in a month in Erode. The police have so far registered 20 fatal cases involving cyclists this year. Not to be mentioned are the hundreds of minor accidents, some of which go unreported.

Part of campaign

In the drive, bicycles will either be pasted with reflector stickers on the carrier or fit with reflectors on the rear mudguard and spokes. The SP says she herself pasted a couple of thousand stickers in the past few days. This is being carried out as part of the `meet the villagers' campaign, she adds.

In the pasting of stickers the police are focusing more on villages abutting highways. Ms. Sonal says bicyclists in those villagers are more vulnerable because they tend to use the highways more often than those in interior villages.

Likewise, the police are also engaged in creating awareness among pedestrians who use highways. They are being asked to either carry a torch or some object with reflectors, she says.

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