Road accidents on the rise in city

SHILLONG: Minor road mishaps have become frequent in the city with the number of vehicles increasing by the day, but size of the roads remaining the same.
In one such mishap last Saturday afternoon, a local taxi hit another from behind while trying to overtake on the Don Bosco square to Laitumkhrah Point road. It happened at a time when traffic was moving slowly as it does on any weekday.
This was the second accident in the area in the same week with the first occurring on Thursday outside Jeeves Fast Food when an Army truck rammed into a local taxi from behind shattering its rear lights.
No one was injured although the streets were packed with pedestrians, including pre-nursery students, at the time. Notably, the Don Bosco junction is manned by Shillong Traffic Police personnel. The accident took place despite traffic moving at snail’s pace.
The number of accidents due to speeding appears to have come down in the city, but minor mishaps keep happening even when there are traffic jams.
While some residents prefer walking over driving to work or school on a pleasant, sunny day, there is a spurt in the number of vehicles on the road on rainy days.However, the city seems to be on the cusp of change with cycling slowly but steadily becoming popular as a means of daily transport.
A large number of college students and professors have started dumping their cars and motorcycles and scooters and turning to the bicycle, which may prove to be the cure to the traffic problem, and many others stemming from it.
(Report by M. Awang Sana, student of Mass Communication, St Anthony’s)