Kerala - Kochi   

Restriction on bike riders welcomed

— Photo: Vipin Chandran

MAMMOTH ISSUES: Overloaded goods carriers are a common sight in Kochi. A scene from the NH bypass at Vytilla, where a heavily-loaded truck was parked for two days, violating the High Court order against overloading and the ban on parking along highways.

KOCHI: More than two people travelling on a two-wheeler carry with them the inherent risk of meeting with an accident, because of the unstable nature of the vehicle.

The Kerala High Court order restricting the number of riders to two, with a small child on the pillion rider’s lap as an option, has generally been welcomed. There have been numerous instances of children being thrown off two-wheelers that meet with accidents, since they are perched precariously on the pillion rider’s lap, on the fuel tank or behind the rider. The risk to pillion riders who do not observe safety norms comes second. Parents travelling on two-wheelers along with two teenaged children are quite common on public holidays and during morning peak hours when children ought to be dropped at school. Very often, the vehicles do not have basic safety fittings like rear-view mirrors, tail lamps and sari guards.

While some bike riders, law-enforcement agencies and traffic experts have welcomed what they termed as a belated order, there are others who say that the order should have come after steps were taken to streamline the public transport system. Their contention is that a family of three or four would prefer buses or even autos, if there is an efficient and comfortable public-transport system in cities and towns across the State. Many cannot afford a car and hence overload their two-wheelers.

Arunraj S., a lawyer who uses both car and bike, spoke of instances he has seen where women riders are forced to sit beyond the rear-grip bar of bikes, when a child sits in between the pillion rider and the rider. “In addition, a teenager sitting in front would severely hamper the rider’s visibility. Despite police checks, youth riding triples on bikes continues. The bike tends to lose balance when more than two people ride on it.

A pothole or sudden braking could prove fatal. A good public-transport system will bring down the number of bikes with more than two passengers.”

George John, coordinator, Rotary International’s road-safety project, said that the risk factor of the third traveller on a bike is the highest. “Two-wheeler accidents have become a major socio-economic problem in the State. Government records list only 20 per cent of the cases where two-wheeler riders suffer injury. We conducted a survey at a private hospital in Thrissur and found that 288 two-wheeler riders with injuries were admitted there in August. But hardly 35 cases were reported to the police. The patients spent Rs.1.25 crore in 45 days on hospital expenses, suffering loss of pay at work and also causing financial loss and mental agony to their family members. All it would have taken to prevent such accidents would be a helmet worth Rs.700 and a little more care while driving.”

There is an increasing demand that action be taken against overloaded goods carries and other vehicles as well. Overloaded goods carriers ranging from goods autorickshaws to huge trailer lorries have a free run in the State.

These vehicles also damage roads that have been built to endure lighter vehicles. Even worse, dozens of people get killed each year in the district after ramming into unlit goods carriers with iron rods, girders and huge wooden logs as cargo.

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