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By Sahar Moussa and Ahmad Jabr
KUWAIT: Cyclists in Kuwait are once more interesting to the federal government for devoted bike lanes as a brand new accident on Friday left a number of individuals injured, together with one individual in coma.
Round 15 individuals have been harm following the hit-and-run accident that occurred on Arabian Gulf Street Friday morning. The victims have been amongst a bunch of round 60 individuals who often apply the game weekly.
“We have been biking as typical when a automobile driving recklessly hit us from behind,” Darius Lumocso, 50, advised Kuwait Instances from his mattress at Mubarak Hospital. He’s amongst 4 individuals who have been taken to Mubarak Hospital, whereas seven others have been rushed to Amiri Hospital together with two in important situation. Considered one of them is recovering from emergency surgical procedure after sustaining fractured ribs and punctured lungs within the accident. The opposite individual stays in coma within the ICU.
Eyewitnesses reported two younger individuals have been within the automobile that was driving recklessly earlier than it hit the group round 4:30 am. “The youngsters have been driving recklessly. It was as in the event that they have been enjoying,” Lumocso stated. He defined that the 2 individuals within the automobile seemed ‘very younger’, including that they fled the scene instantly after the accident occurred.
A number of eyewitness experiences confirmed that the suspects escaped following the accident. In line with Lumocso, the suspects have been later recognized and held by police at Maidan Hawally police station for questioning. Kuwait Instances’ makes an attempt to contact police officers for a press release weren’t instantly returned. The Inside Ministry launched a press release late afternoon confirming that the accident had occurred and saying that search was nonetheless ongoing for the wrongdoer. It famous that the biker group had not obtained prior permission from authorities to arrange the operate.
Unsafe situations
Lumocso was biking with Bike Group Kuwait, a bunch of round 60 cyclists who’re principally from the Philippines. Cyclists from India had additionally joined the group on the day of the accident. Lumocso is an avid biker who practices the pastime on a median of 4 instances per week. The group often organizes a weekly gathering to apply the game on Gulf Street each Friday at daybreak to keep away from site visitors.
Nevertheless, Lumocso says that reckless driving habits is simply too widespread for them to really feel secure even biking on the early hours of the morning. “We wish assist from the federal government (to supply) bike lanes,” he advised Kuwait Instances. “There are not any bike lanes in Kuwait. There are a number of, multinational bike teams within the nation, and all of them are making the identical attraction to the federal government to supply secure bike lanes.”
Bicycle accidents are quite common in Kuwait because the nation lacks the right infrastructure to supply secure biking reminiscent of bike lanes or bicycle tracks. In 2021, Kuwait banned biking on Jaber Causeway, a preferred vacation spot for bikers within the nation, after an accident left one biker useless and one other injured.
“The dearth of bicycle lanes in Kuwait poses a giant problem for us as cyclists, moreover the dearth of individuals’s consciousness about cyclists’ security and safety,” Batoul Al-Abdullah, a bike owner who’s a member of motorbike mate staff, advised Kuwait Instances final week. “This places us at excessive danger of accidents and hazard.”
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