There have already been numerous reports of accidents, with more than half of them involving motorcycles. If this becomes a trend, bikes will be one of the terrors on the highways shortly.
This year’s Eid-ul-Fitr on the road was a lot of relief. There were traffic jams at the entrance to Dhaka, but these quickly ended. There are three possibilities behind this. First, the Department of Roads and Urban Development has built flyovers in crowded regions, graded separation, and new bridges such as the Dhaka-Tangail highway have generated positive outcomes. Second, police activity was notably higher this Eid season than before. Lastly, the vast use of motorcycles during the Eid procession.
When the bus was delayed down to a shortage of passengers, people traveled to Eid on motorbikes since bike doesn’t stop everywhere or can take alternate routes.
While long-distance passenger transit on bikes provides temporary relief, the system is not sustainable or safe. There have already been numerous reports of accidents, with more than half of them involving motorcycles. If this becomes a trend, bikes will be one of the terrors on the highways shortly.
Motorcycles make up over 80% of all vehicles in Bangladesh. Motorcycles are notoriously dangerous vehicles all around the world. Motorcycles have less stability and visibility than other vehicles due to their smaller size. Both the passenger and the rider on the motorcycle are exposed, so the accident rate is higher.
The maximum CC permitted for motorbikes in our country is 165 cc, and a minimum of 150 cc quality motorcycle is required to drive on the highway. But, during Eid, even lower CC motorcycles are used, which are not fit for long-distance travel as they weigh less and have less stability.
However, several precautions should ensure safe motorcycle riding on highways. Firstly, motorbikes less than 150 CC should not consider for highway use. Second, no more than two persons, including the driver, should be carried, and everyone must wear a proper helmet. In this case, Bangladesh should implement the proper strategy to upgrade and grow its transportation systems to avoid calamities.
