In a tragic accident a woman from Delhi riding pillion was killed while her husband sustained injuries at Sancoale on Wednesday. It is learnt that the couple were riding a rent-a-bike when the two-wheeler collided with a parked car whose front tyre was punctured. The woman was flung in the air and came under the wheels of another car moving in the same direction. Under ordinary circumstances, allowing a car to stand along the highway is not in itself negligence, if the stop is temporary and for a legitimate or necessary purpose. But these parked vehicles should not obstruct the smooth flow of traffic. Motorists have the right to assume that the road ahead is clear and safe for travel. In any of these situations, the driver can pull onto the road shoulder. Vehicles parked on highways and roadsides put the lives of people and motorists at risk especially when the highways and roads are not well lit or when vehicles are parked at a blind turn. Such vehicles may not have any warning sign or reflective triangles placed behind them which makes them highly dangerous. At times one sees branches and twigs being put up on such vehicles as a warning which may not be sufficient. It would be in the fitness of things to tow/push the vehicle to the road shoulder without wasting time.
