Kerala Elderly Woman Turns Footpath Guardian, Stops Scooterist, Wins Hearts Online
The Motor Vehicles Department filed a case against the scooter rider and suspended his license. A team of MVD officials visited Prabhavathy Amma’s home and honored her with a ponnada (shawl)
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In an incident that took social media by storm, an elderly woman bravely stopped a scooter rider who was driving along the footpath at Eranjippalam junction in Kozhikode.
The woman, identified as Prabhavathi Amma, 73, a native of Chalappuram, intercepted the rider who was trying to dodge a traffic signal by driving through the footpath. Showing remarkable grit and composure, she stretched her leg to block the scooterist’s path and even snapped a photo of the two-wheeler’s number plate on her smartphone.
The Kerala Motor Vehicles Department praised her courage and shared the viral video on their Facebook page, asking the public to help identify her.
The Motor Vehicles Department filed a case against the scooter rider and suspended his license. A team of MVD officials visited Prabhavathy Amma’s home and honored her with a ponnada (shawl). “We salute Amma for her courageous stand. We will conduct a campaign to curb such violations in the city,” said motor vehicle inspector Vinu Jose.
The video showed heavy traffic at Eranhipalam a busy junction, with buses, lorries, and two-wheelers waiting for the green signal. At that moment, a middle-aged scooterist tried to dodge the queue by taking his two-wheeler onto the pedestrian footpath and riding toward the junction. However, his attempt to escape the jam using this shortcut was short-lived, as a woman stood firmly in his way, preventing him from moving forward.
She told him to get off the pedestrian path and take his scooter back to the main road. He even tried to squeeze through a narrow gap between her and the railings, but she stretched out her legs to block his path. Despite several attempts to move ahead, she did not let him pass.
When the scooterist refused to back off, the woman pulled out her smartphone and snapped photos of the scooter’s registration number, apparently to report it to the concerned authorities. With her standing her ground, the scooterist had no choice but to return to the main road.
The incident was captured on video by popular vlogger Aflu Stories on Wednesday and shared on social media the next day. With two-wheeler riders often using pedestrian paths to dodge traffic jams, many believe Prabhavati Amma’s solo act will inspire ordinary citizens to step in and help curb such violations.