Accidents caused by dumpers need addressing

The dumper truck, which was involved in the collision on November 26, has been confiscated by the police

In the fifth such incident this year, a 32-year-old woman and her 12-year-old son lost their lives in a collision with a dumper truck near a school in Kurla's Nehru Nagar area. The mother was riding a scooter at the time of the incident. The child's school was just 100 to 200 metres from the accident spot. The dead woman's husband said that dumpers should not be allowed near schools, as many parents and students walk on these narrow roads in the morning.

While this is a huge tragedy and the statement comes from a bereaved husband and father, the authorities must consider the merit of restricting dumpers and heavy vehicles from narrow lanes used by students to access their schools.

This is easier said than done, given the traffic snarls witnessed in Mumbai. Yet, there is some way we can meet at the halfway stage. Maybe, specific timings could be planned for the plying of heavy vehicles.

There must be every effort to find an alternate route. During school hours, there must be police on the main road and traffic wardens posted in lanes to ensure there is traffic management, right up to the gates of schools.

All vehicle speeds need to be restricted to extremely slow in the immediate vicinity of schools. Signboards that are clearly visible must indicate there is a school ahead and around the corner. Traffic authorities, if needed, can install speed breakers near the schools yet, every situation and area is different so this is not a blanket solution.

What is vital is that heavy vehicles have a driver and one more person, like a conductor, alerting the driver to the presence of children on the streets or generally acting as a lookout.

This worrying issue needs a basket of solutions, and safety has to be top consideration.