Despite awareness drives, riding on footpath rampant

Despite awareness drives, two-wheelers riding on footpaths see alarming rise.

More two-wheelers try bypassing traffic on the road by riding on footpaths, putting innocent pedestrians in danger.

In the first six months of this year, the traffic police have registered more than 20,000 cases of motorists riding on the footpath. Despite appeals by activists and action by the police, instances of scooter and bike riders racing along the footpaths are increasing alarmingly.

Statistics with the Bengaluru city traffic police reveals that 13,122 cases are booked for parking on the footpaths, while 8,658 cases of riders using the footpaths are booked until June.

“The roads are meant for vehicular movement and footpaths for pedestrians. This is not the case near main roads or traffic signals. One can see two-wheeler riders riding on footpaths all over the city,” complained Pratham Kumar, a resident of Indiranagar, where the violation has become a menace.

The traffic police said they conduct awareness programmes to educate the two-wheeler riders, but no amount of education seems to stop them from violating the rules. “Traffic discipline is one of the major problems among the motorists,” lamented a traffic police official.

According to activist Jenni Pinto, heavy fines are the best means to discourage two-wheeler riders from using the pedestrian walkway.

“There’s a need to design the streets to ensure motorists can’t get onto the footpaths, but the authorities concerned should take action on those who violate the road discipline. This alone will reduce the cases,” she said.

Civic groups and activists are holding awareness campaigns with the traffic police on the issue of road safety throughout this month. The traffic awareness safety drive is targetted at both motorists and pedestrians.