Improvised vehicles on the highways

In a timely move the High Court has slapped a ban on driving improvised three-wheelers on highways in order to reduce the number of road crashes. That the highest court of the land had to intervene in this matter is evidence of how badly these ramshackle, odd-looking contraptions unfit for roads, are endangering road safety.  Now, the obvious question is who will enforce the proscription? Such bans are not new. In 2014, the court ordered the government to withdraw these jalopies from highways in 10 districts across the country. And the following year, the relevant ministry also issued an order, banning three-wheelers and other slow-moving and unfit vehicles on highways.

How is it that these dangerous improvisations continue to ply on our roads and highways? What are the authorities doing, if anything at all, to check the number of illegally operated three wheelers? The owners and operators of these unsafe vehicles apparently exploit a local demand for transportation but can that be an excuse for allowing such accident-prone contraptions to ply on roads and highways unregulated?

The hard reality is that unless the supply side goes through a complete overhaul, efforts, even if most sincere, are unlikely to solve the problem. Affordable and good quality public transport will have to be introduced to meet the growing demand. Both the government and the private sector have equal responsibilities in this regard. Precious lives are lost everyday in crashes caused by improvised three wheelers. The ban should be strictly enforced while coming up with safer and affordable means of public transportation.