Md Joynal Abedin Khan :
Many apps based rideshare bikes (Uber, Pathao, SAM, and Shohoz) reportedly fall into accidents nowadays due to inadequate safety measures taken by the riders while giving the quick service to the passengers, claiming lives and thereby created one kind of fear among the city residents.
A total of 17 people, including bikers and riders, were reportedly killed and three hundred other people were injured in 148 bike accidents in Dhaka since 2016, reports Media quoting the study of Nirapad Sarak Chai (NiSCha).
In the latest, a female student of BRAC University was killed after she fell from the bike when it suddenly stopped in the city’s Shyamoli on Thursday. The deceased was identified as Fahmida Haque Labannya 21, a 3rd year student of Computer Science and Engineering department of the University. She was daughter of one Imdadul Haque of Haripur village in Fulbari Upazila of Mymensingh district.
A passenger of Pathao, Ride-sharing service, died and the biker was injured when a double-decker bus hit the bike on Airport Road in Dhaka
on July 4, 2018. the deceased was identified as Nazmul Hasan, 32.
Lafizur Rahman, a Pathao motorcycle passenger was killed after falling of from the bike in the city’s Khilkhet on September 17 while Ripon Sikder and Jan-e-Alam, passengers of O’bhai, were killed in Motijheel on Septembers 3 in 2018.
Besides, Sohel Parvez was killed on August 20 when his motorcycle was hit by a truck. Also a motorcycle passenger named Kazi Maruf Hassan was killed near a Tejgaon checkpoint on March 6 last year.
Kazi Md Saifun Newaz, Associate Professor of Accident Research Institutes (ARI) of Bangladesh University Engineering and Technology (BUET), said that the prime causes of these accidents were unskilled riders and lack of knowledge about safety practices.
“Firstly, the number of motorcycles has increased due to these profitable ride-sharing services and this has resulted in more accidents. Many accidents remain under-reported as police do not file FIR in all incidents, according to him.
According to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), the number of motorcycles of ride sharing of different operators already crossed seven lakh. Uber popularised ride-sharing services in Dhaka in 2016.
The BRTA Dhaka office said that about 206 motorcycles were registered in Dhaka per day since 2017.
A passenger of ride-sharing services, Munira Jahan, told The New Nation on Friday, “Whenever a traffic signal comes close, the bikers insist on using helmets to avoid the filing of a case.
“It is a good sign that they at least insist on using helmets, but I was unaware of any safety protection measures,” she said.
Raisul, got registered both with Pathao and UberMoto. He said that he passed the driving license test and has been riding on the roads for the last four months. “I don’t find any problem in doubling.”
While the riders don’t have any problem, many of the commuters began feeling that allowing riders to use bike-ride-sharing apps without going through any sort of screenings, tests and trainings is making the already dangerous Dhaka roads “even more dangerous”.
“In the last few months, I have heard and read news about several accidents on Dhaka streets, it makes me scared. I don’t feel safe now to ride on bikes,” he said.
Share A Motorcycle (SAM) Chief Executive Imtiaz Kashem admitted that ride-sharing companies are giving job opportunities to those without experience of riding motorcycles.
Pathao Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Hussain M Elius has said, “The responsibility is also partially ours. But everyone has to work together to bring order in this sector. As we are working together on the matter, it will eventually bear fruit.”
We have distributed over one lakh helmets so far as part of a safety initiative, Elius said.
Mafizul, who has worked as a rider for six months, says that he had known how to drive a car, but not how to ride a motorcycle.
“I bought the motorcycle six months ago. Another person rode it to my house. That day I underwent an hour of training and have been a Pathao rider since then,” he said.
DMP’ Additional Commissioner (Traffic) Mofiz Uddin Ahmed said they cannot take any action against the use of substandard helmets, as the law allows action against only those who do not use helmets.
“If they do not wear a helmet, we can file a case. If there is any government instruction to file case based on the standard of helmets, we may do that,” he said.
World Health Organisation (WHO) says a helmet can absorb the shock of a crash if the crushable liner is between 1.5 cm and 3.0 cm in thickness.
Earlier, the Bureau of Indian Standards issued guidelines under which new helmets should not weigh more than 1.2kg, at least 300gm lighter than the previous limit of 1.5kg.
Many apps based rideshare bikes (Uber, Pathao, SAM, and Shohoz) reportedly fall into accidents nowadays due to inadequate safety measures taken by the riders while giving the quick service to the passengers, claiming lives and thereby created one kind of fear among the city residents.
A total of 17 people, including bikers and riders, were reportedly killed and three hundred other people were injured in 148 bike accidents in Dhaka since 2016, reports Media quoting the study of Nirapad Sarak Chai (NiSCha).
In the latest, a female student of BRAC University was killed after she fell from the bike when it suddenly stopped in the city’s Shyamoli on Thursday. The deceased was identified as Fahmida Haque Labannya 21, a 3rd year student of Computer Science and Engineering department of the University. She was daughter of one Imdadul Haque of Haripur village in Fulbari Upazila of Mymensingh district.
A passenger of Pathao, Ride-sharing service, died and the biker was injured when a double-decker bus hit the bike on Airport Road in Dhaka
on July 4, 2018. the deceased was identified as Nazmul Hasan, 32.
Lafizur Rahman, a Pathao motorcycle passenger was killed after falling of from the bike in the city’s Khilkhet on September 17 while Ripon Sikder and Jan-e-Alam, passengers of O’bhai, were killed in Motijheel on Septembers 3 in 2018.
Besides, Sohel Parvez was killed on August 20 when his motorcycle was hit by a truck. Also a motorcycle passenger named Kazi Maruf Hassan was killed near a Tejgaon checkpoint on March 6 last year.
Kazi Md Saifun Newaz, Associate Professor of Accident Research Institutes (ARI) of Bangladesh University Engineering and Technology (BUET), said that the prime causes of these accidents were unskilled riders and lack of knowledge about safety practices.
“Firstly, the number of motorcycles has increased due to these profitable ride-sharing services and this has resulted in more accidents. Many accidents remain under-reported as police do not file FIR in all incidents, according to him.
According to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), the number of motorcycles of ride sharing of different operators already crossed seven lakh. Uber popularised ride-sharing services in Dhaka in 2016.
The BRTA Dhaka office said that about 206 motorcycles were registered in Dhaka per day since 2017.
A passenger of ride-sharing services, Munira Jahan, told The New Nation on Friday, “Whenever a traffic signal comes close, the bikers insist on using helmets to avoid the filing of a case.
“It is a good sign that they at least insist on using helmets, but I was unaware of any safety protection measures,” she said.
Raisul, got registered both with Pathao and UberMoto. He said that he passed the driving license test and has been riding on the roads for the last four months. “I don’t find any problem in doubling.”
While the riders don’t have any problem, many of the commuters began feeling that allowing riders to use bike-ride-sharing apps without going through any sort of screenings, tests and trainings is making the already dangerous Dhaka roads “even more dangerous”.
“In the last few months, I have heard and read news about several accidents on Dhaka streets, it makes me scared. I don’t feel safe now to ride on bikes,” he said.
Share A Motorcycle (SAM) Chief Executive Imtiaz Kashem admitted that ride-sharing companies are giving job opportunities to those without experience of riding motorcycles.
Pathao Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Hussain M Elius has said, “The responsibility is also partially ours. But everyone has to work together to bring order in this sector. As we are working together on the matter, it will eventually bear fruit.”
We have distributed over one lakh helmets so far as part of a safety initiative, Elius said.
Mafizul, who has worked as a rider for six months, says that he had known how to drive a car, but not how to ride a motorcycle.
“I bought the motorcycle six months ago. Another person rode it to my house. That day I underwent an hour of training and have been a Pathao rider since then,” he said.
DMP’ Additional Commissioner (Traffic) Mofiz Uddin Ahmed said they cannot take any action against the use of substandard helmets, as the law allows action against only those who do not use helmets.
“If they do not wear a helmet, we can file a case. If there is any government instruction to file case based on the standard of helmets, we may do that,” he said.
World Health Organisation (WHO) says a helmet can absorb the shock of a crash if the crushable liner is between 1.5 cm and 3.0 cm in thickness.
Earlier, the Bureau of Indian Standards issued guidelines under which new helmets should not weigh more than 1.2kg, at least 300gm lighter than the previous limit of 1.5kg.
