The Swedish man who died after he rode a shopping trolley down a steep Sydney road at 80kmh is a wake-up call and a stern reminder to shoppers who abandon supermarket trolleys along HDB void decks and walkways ("Man dies, friend badly hurt in shopping trolley accident; Nov 11").
For decades, despite the public outcry, along with numerous warnings and notices by supermarkets that it is an offence to abandon trolleys, such inconsiderate and dangerous behaviour continues.
Such behaviour not only increases the cost of trolley replacement, it also exposes passers-by to injuries or even death, especially for the elderly. We also cannot rule out rascals who, out of fun, kick the discarded trolleys down the road.
People do not understand how fast a trolley can travel when unattended, and it is time for the authorities to do something about this before mishaps occur.
Increasing closed-circuit TV presence within store premises, awareness campaigns, security gates and wheel-locking devices - which activate when the trolleys are taken beyond the supermarket perimeter - are some options to consider.
Francis Cheng