Regulating Three-Wheelers: Banned on nat’l, regional highways
No three-wheelers or easy-bikes would be allowed on the national and regional highways. Such vehicles must have route permit, registration and fitness clearance for operating on the dedicated routes. And their drivers have to obtain licences.
There would be limitations on the number of vehicles which can run in a particular area. Thus, the number of small vehicles would be controlled which would help reduce road crashes and traffic congestion.
These are several provisions of a draft guideline prepared by the government to regulate the unregulated and risky three-wheelers and similar types of vehicles in the country.
Different types of three-wheelers like Nasimon and Karimon and battery-run easy-bike will come under the regulations.
The move comes at a time when the country witnessed a sharp rise in road accidents and deaths this year and experts blamed operations of a huge number of slow-moving vehicles on the highways for this.
However, the government has failed to enforce the ban on three-wheelers like Nasimon and Karimon on the 22 major national highways imposed in August 2015.
After preparing the draft guideline titled "Three-wheelers and Similar Motor Vehicles' Proper Management and Control Guideline-2021", the Road Transport and Highways Division (RTHD) uploaded the draft in its website on Monday seeking public opinions within a month.
"We have sent the copies of the draft to the ministries concerned. After getting opinions from individuals and the ministries, we will hold an inter-ministerial meeting before finalising the draft," Yousub Ali Mollah, additional secretary (estate wing) of RTHD, told The Daily Star yesterday.
Necessary procedures would be followed before making the guideline functional, he added.
WHY THE GUIDELINE?
Total 48.69 lakh vehicles got registered with Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) until September this year, of them 3.19 vehicles are three-wheelers.
But a good number of unregistered three-wheelers like easy-bike, Nasimon and Karimon are being operated on roads, and the number of the vehicles are increasing day by day.
"But such small, unregistered and unapproved vehicles are not technically safe for operation. Safety units of the vehicles, including brake, steering, and suspension, are not standard," reads the draft guideline.
Besides, operations of such slow-moving vehicles alongside speedy vehicles on highways often cause accidents and as per different reports, most victims of road accidents were passengers of such vehicles, it added.
A total of 3,095 people were killed in 3,259 road crashes in the first seven months of this year -- over 40 percent higher than that of the same period last year, according to a police report.
The country saw the sharp rise in road crashes even though operations of bus and minibus remained suspended for long this year due to Covid-19 shutdown.
Experts blamed plying of a huge of number of small vehicles on highways for the sharp rise in casualties.
"In this situation, operations of such small vehicles should be controlled.
However, the vehicles are being used by a large number of people as cost-effective vehicles," reads the draft.
In June 2019, RTHD formed a 12-member committee to make recommendations how to control these vehicles. Besides, they were asked to give opinions how the vehicles can be kept in operation in particular areas by improving their technical standard.
The committee submitted its report in January this year and another committee led by BRTA Chairman Nur Mohammad Mazumder prepared the draft guideline.
WHAT THE GUIDELINE FURTHER SAYS?
As per the draft, upon receiving the route permit, "auto-rickshaw and auto-tempo" would be operated in a particular area except the national and regional highways.
A government committee would set the number of the vehicles for a particular area and the fare.
Battery-run easy-bike can run on upazila and union level routes after taking route permit.
The easy-bike can be allowed on the alleys in city corporation areas and district towns for just two years after the guideline comes into effect. These would not be permitted there after that.
Locally-made three-wheelers like Nasimon and Karimon can also ply upazila and union level routes.
All such three-wheelers must have registration, route permit, fitness clearance and tax token from the competent authorities. Prior permission from the concerned authorities would be required to sell the vehicles.
Drivers would wear particular uniforms and must have licences, the draft mentions.
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