Stray Dogs Run Across Road, Royal Enfield Rider Could Not Brake In Time (Video)
Indian roads can be extremely unpredictable. You can end up in a crash even if you are a careful, responsible rider/driver. The reason could be jaywalking cattle or a person lost in his smartphone. In a recent incident, a man riding a Royal Enfield was involved in an accident after hitting a stray dog that ran across the road. A surveillance camera nearby captured this incident and the footage was later shared online.
This incident is from Shasthamkotta, a village in Kollam. As the video opens, we see two dogs running around- one is brown and the other black. An empty road can be seen in the foreground. The road and the field nearby look wet, suggesting that the area might have recently received rainfall. This also means that the road would be slippery at the time of the crash.
Soon, the black dog runs into the road. Just then, a Royal Enfield motorcycle appears on the screen. It is carrying a decent speed. The rider spots the dog, and tries to swerve. But It is too late for him to brake safety or to change course. The bike hits the animal.
The impact makes the rider lose balance and fall off his bike. The dog survived with minor injuries to its legs and soon fled the scene, frightened.
The rider, identified as Akhil, works as a physiotherapist in Shasthamkotta Taluk hospital. He was on his way to work when the accident occurred. He is reported to have suffered injuries on his hands. Thankfully, things did not get worse. Akhil was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, and this proved to be of great help as well.
A White Kia Seltos was following the Royal Enfield rider in this case. It seems to have noticed the dogs approaching and slowed down. This prevented it from crashing into the fallen rider and leading to a disaster.
It appears from the visuals that the bike landed on his leg. It doesn’t however, mention about any serious fracture or damages to the rider’s leg. People from around soon came to the rescue. They can be seen moving the bike and freeing up Akhil’s leg. Even a passerby motorcyclist pulled over and helped the injured rider.
Stray dogs have been making headlines in Kerala - sometimes for attacking people, and sometimes for causing accidents. The fear led to the government announcing its intentions to carry out euthanasia of rabid dogs and rolling out mobile Animal Birth Control (ABC) units to bring things under control. There will also be a strong push for vaccination drives for stray dogs as well.
The residents of the place where this accident occurred said that it was a lapse in the proper implementation of the ABC program that caused this mishap. The program intends to bring down the stray dog population significantly by sterilizing them and euthanizing the rabid ones. This move has already sparked protests among animal lovers.
Local Self-Government Minister M B Rajesh has made it clear that strict action will be taken against the people who disrupt the smooth functioning of ABC centers. The government plans to deploy as many as 152 portable ABC units in the coming months.
Circling back, in this case, the dog and slippery road- both had equal roles in causing the accident. Plus the Royal Enfield was carrying a good speed as well. If the same had occurred on a road that wasn’t wet, and at a lower speed, maybe things would have been different.