A Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) is a heavy weight monster in contrast to an ordinary family car. The drivers need to be cautious on the city and village roads. They cannot zoom as if they are driving on rugged and in challenging terrains such as in the Thar or Sahara deserts. In the last couple of months several accidents involving a particular type of SUV have occurred in Goa. People have been maimed or killed while the vehicles (2- and 4-wheelers) hit by the SUV were mangled, sometimes beyond recognition. In a recent accident an SUV went out of control, jumped the divider and caused a 3-vehicle crash at Verna (TGE 29 June). The reasons for the above accidents were: Drunken driving, reckless and fast driving, driver did not anticipate or was unaware of the road conditions and layout, amongst others.Considering the number and seriousness of the accidents, the manufacturers could check for mechanical, electronic and other issues with their SUVs. They could verify if any particular model or batch of the SUV was responsible for the accidents. If so, it will be better to recall them.
SRIDHAR D'IYER, Caranzalem
