After ghastly accident, cop makes on-the-spot awareness video

Nagpur: After noticing that a water bottle stuck under the brake and clutch pedals had led to a ghastly accident which claimed three lives and injured two others, senior inspector Motiram M Bodkhe of Pusad rural police station in Yavatmal has created an awareness video.
On August 19, a SUV had rammed a tree along the road at Khandala ghat village in Pusad tehsil. The four-wheeler coming from Madhya Pradesh was headed to Ramnagar near Mahur.
Senior PI Bodkhe said the accident had occurred on a road with sparse traffic movement. “While inspecting the car, a water bottle was found stuck under the brake and clutch pedals. It had to be pulled out with force. It almost became clear that the driver was unable to operate the brake and clutch,” said Bodkhe.
Bodkhe said he asked a constable to shoot the video on the spot to explain how the accident took place and its cause. “There was neither script nor preparation but just an impromptu effort to create awareness and ensure motorists don’t repeat this mistake of keeping anything under the driver’s seat,” he said.
The senior PI said the accident reminded him of a similar incident few years back on Solapur-Pandharpur Road in which around eight people had died. “A bottle was found stuck under brake and clutch pedals then,” said Bodkhe who has also worked in Nagpur city in the past.
Bodkhe said he regrets not making a bi-lingual video which was shot in Marathi. “I had been receiving calls from across Maharashtra appreciating the content of the video. It could have been forwarded to other states too had it been shot in Hindi,” he said.