The road safety standard of Bangladesh is very poor; which needs to be amended, as far as possible. Accordingly, the appropriate strategy for prevention of the most prevalent types of accidents should be a priority. The non-motorised vehicles constitute vulnerable road user groups' transports. A 'Vulnerable Road User' type is a particular traffic that is unsafe in the road traffic environment. This type of traffic is principally unguarded by an external protection; thus the vehicles are susceptible to suffer serious physical injuries in a crash. Accordingly, the non-motorised vehicles deserve higher safety priority alongside overall improvement in the safety standard.
There are several types of non-motorised traffic in Bangladesh. We need pre-emptive strategies to convert them to be much more sustainable in the worsening road traffic environment. The safety aspects of rickshaw come to the forefront, not only because it is one of the oldest modes, slow and manually driven. It has retained the same unaltered design and features since its introduction. That has rendered the mode almost unfit on safety ground. On the contrary, over this period, most of the motorised traffics have experienced several changes from electrical/mechanical aspects to safety considerations.
Accordingly, the rickshaw should have undergone several changes meanwhile, particularly in matters of safety features, because now they are encountering much more hostile environment due to the increasing number of motorised vehicles. Moreover, an accident involving a home-bound mother who was thrown from a rickshaw to be crushed under the wheel of a bus has focused on the need to immediately improve safety features for this mode. In the current road traffic environment, where road-rules are flagrantly violated, more surprisingly, the country is still waiting for a comprehensive road code book. Therefore, the best strategy for averting an accident is to get past all dangerous situations by operators, be it in the front or at the rear of the mode concerned.
The designing features of rickshaw should be modified to enhance its safety standard and improve passengers' comfort. These are: (1) a rickshaw-puller must see the rear side; accordingly side mirrors should essentially be included as crushing from behind is one of the leading road mishaps for rickshaws; (2) without increasing the total weight, a steel body should be the standard in structuring a rickshaw; (3) enhancement of conspicuousness. Therefore, use of reflective and visibility enhancement materials is inevitable; (4) incorporation of front and rear indicator lights as well as headlight and taillight; (5) steel enclosures covered with safety cushions to prevent passengers' fall off should be incorporated. Had this feature been previously added, crushing deaths under the wheel after falling-off on the road could probably have been avoided in many cases; (6) bells or other audible signaling devices must be included; (7) for passengers' comfort, boarding height of the rickshaws should be reduced; and (8) suspension by leaf spring is recommended for stability and comfort.
These are not the exhaustive list of features. Incorporation of advanced features is necessary to keep pace with the continuously improving technologies over time. Therefore, the need for establishment of an effective 'Transport Research Institution' is crucial as well.
Apart from the safety and comfort features the institutional issues are also important for better assurances both for passengers and pullers. For example, an NGO could be employed for controlling a few thousand rickshaws. Such NGOs will remain accountable for accidents and all arbitrations. This modality has several benefits like restricting rickshaw pulling without proper trainings. In addition, various welfare measures including introducing insurance policy for rickshaw-pullers could usher in a new horizon.
Regarding safety of cyclists, wearing of prescribed helmets is the most effective strategy for preventing injuries from a crash or fall-off. The most concerning issue regarding bicyclists' safety is that their presence is hardly perceived by the motorists. About 70 per cent of drivers reported that they did not see the cyclist before crash. Therefore, mandatory use of visibility enhancement materials at the manufacturing stages is necessary. Moreover, wearing of protective gears painted in visibility enhancement materials with headlights and taillights adding to the conspicuousness can complement the safety strategies. Furthermore, within the current road traffic environment, where road-rules are blatantly disregarded, avoidance of all dangerous situations is the best strategy for individual's own safety. The inclusion of these features at the earliest is probably the best approach, more particularly in a busy city like Dhaka.
The writer is a traffic-cum-road safety engineer [email protected]
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