A 73-year-old woman was honoured by the Kerala motor vehicles department (MVD) on Saturday for confronting a traffic violator near Erangipalam bypass in Kozhikode recently. Visuals of the scene, which show the woman stopping a scooty rider from misusing the footpath, have now gone viral on social media.
Soon after the visuals surfaced online, officials from the MVD arrived at Prabhavathi Amma’s residence and honoured her with a traditional shawl.
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How did the woman confront the traffic violator?
In visuals circulating on social media, the woman is seen confronting scooter rider driving on the footpath and making him move back onto the road.
After the video went viral, she received massive praise and appreciation on social media, which led Kerala’s MVD to honour her at her residence.
{{/usCountry}}After the video went viral, she received massive praise and appreciation on social media, which led Kerala’s MVD to honour her at her residence.
{{/usCountry}}Speaking about the incident, Prabhavathi said she was heading to a shop when she noticed the rider coming towards her on the footpath.
"He told me to make way for him, and I asked where I should go? Should I walk on the road? I told him the footpath is meant for pedestrians and the road is for two-wheelers.
"So, he asked me whether I was teaching him the law," she told PTI Videos.
After the incident, officials said they suspended the scooter rider's driving licence for breaking traffic rules and putting public safety at risk, the news agency reported.
Netizens hail Prabhavathi Amma’s efforts
Social media users praised the woman for standing up to the rider and said her act should encourage better civic behaviour. Many also said they felt inspired by her example.
“If she can, what is stopping us! All Indians must have a common purpose to put India at the highest category for civic sense and cleanliness,” a user wrote on X.
A second netizen said, “We need more brave women like her”, while another posted, “This initiative had to begin somewhere, and she seemed to be one of the pioneers. People need to be taught civic sense. It's high time now.