Road crash on highways: Transport leaders for curbs on bikes

Transport leaders yesterday called for restrictions on motorbike operations on highways in a bid to reduce the number of road crashes – a major concern over the past years.

Shajahan Khan and Mashiur Rahman Ranga, two top transport leaders, briefed reporters after a meeting at the Secretariat yesterday.

However, the taskforce, led by Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, did not take a final decision in this regard, meeting sources said.

The taskforce was formed in October 2019 to implement 111 recommendations, given by a committee led by Shajahan Khan, to curb road crashes and bring discipline in the road transport sector.

Yesterday's was the taskforce's fifth meeting.

The proposal came at a time when authorities, citing safety concerns, are taking stricter steps against bike operations.

The Bangladesh Bridge Authority earlier banned bikes on Padma Bridge.

Moreover, bike movement on highways were restricted for a week (from July 7 to July 13), aiming to ensure road safety during the Eid rush.

Besides, a government probe committee has recently recommended banning bikes on national highways as they noticed a sharp rise in accidents involving bikes ahead of this year's Eid-ul-Fitr.

For the lack of public services and rise in bus fares, many people resorted to using two-wheelers to go home ahead of Eid. But the huge number of bikes caused more accidents, different road safety organisations said.

More than 35 lakh bikes have been registered with Bangladesh Road Transport Authority so far. But many unregistered bikes still operate unchecked across the country.

Many bike riders and users alleged that the decision was taken due to pressure from the bus owners. 

After yesterday's meeting, Shajahan Khan, president of Bangladesh Road Transport Workers' Federation, said motorcycles account for around 40 percent of road accidents in the country.

Shajahan, also a lawmaker of ruling Awami League, said ride-sharing services by bikes are also dangerous.

"The number of fatal road accidents will come down if we control motorcycle [movement]."

Contacted, Ranga, president of Bangladesh Road Transport Owners' Association and also a Jatiya party lawmaker, said he has pressed for the non-operation of ride-sharing bikes on inter-district routes.

About how ride-sharing service bikes would be recognised, he suggested having separate number plates and licences for them.

However, at least three participants of the meeting said although they have talked about ride-sharing services by bikes and recent accidents, no concrete decision against bike movement was taken.

Meanwhile, ABM Amin Ullah Nuri, secretary of the Road Transport and Highway Division, said the meeting decided to fix an economic lifeline of commercial vehicles to ensure safety and scrap those after expiry.

Another participant said the meeting mulled over fixing a 20-year lifeline for buses and 25 years for trucks.

"However the decision would become a government order after Buet experts give their opinions regarding it and a guideline is finalised in this regard."

Meanwhile, prominent road safety campaigner Ilias Kanchan, also a member of the taskforce, said the transport leaders often dominate the meeting and talk about their own issues, which are discussed all the time.

He said he and two other Buet experts were asked to join the meeting virtually, while transport leaders were allowed to join in person.

The meeting discussed several decisions taken previously, including taking action against illegal driving schools, giving appointment letters to transport workers, and increasing the number of centres for conducting dope tests before issuing professional driving licences.