Youth ride triples for thrill, ignore safety rules Life put at risk in a bid to save money
The triple riding menace continues in the city with most youngsters risking theirs and others’ lives.
Recently, two students died on the spot and their friend had a narrow escape after their bike slipped at Tank Bund road.
Nearly 300 accidents involving two-wheelers were reported in the city this year until April and 50 per cent of the victims were bikers.
Traffic cops said that though the elderly too are culprits of triple riding, it is mostly youngsters who indulge in this.
They added that youngsters should understand that they may escape most of the times, but a single unfortunate incident could cost them their lives.
On Sunday night, three teenagers from Hyderabad, Vijay, 19, a resident of Chintal, Manoj, 19, from Kukatpally and Raisab Yadav, were triple riding on a bike and met with an accident, while avoiding a pedestrian crossing the road.
Vijay and Manoj succumbed to their injuries while Raisab was admitted to a hospital in a critical condition.
According to Gandhinagar sub-inspector M. Prasad, the boys had told their parents that they were going for a friend's birthday party.
The accident took place while they were heading towards Secunderabad. We have initiated various traffic awareness programmes in the city, mainly focusing on Factors like recklessness, arrogance, psychic pleasure and thrill are some of the reasons behind triple riding, said a psychologist. Some of these factors could influence a person to violate the law, he said.
“Three persons riding one motorcycle is an awful sight and they are prone to go off balance any minute,” said a road safety expert who wished to remain anonymous.
“They adjust in such a cramped manner that the rider sits almost on the fuel tank or the frontedge of the seat and when done so, his hand and leg movements are naturally restricted. The rider cannot have complete control over the vehicle,” he said adding that it will not be considered negligence when a family consisting of the husband, wife and children are travelling.
“Even in such cases, if more than one child aged school and college-going children, said deputy commissioner of Hyderabad traffic police, K. Babu Rao.
“We have deputed officers to visit schools and colleges to speak to students. The idea is that even if they do not pay attention, at least the message will reach out between 10 and 12 are travelling, the principle of negligence will be applicable in an accident,” he added. “A fine is secondary when the life itself is in question,” said Dr Nitika Keshri.
“Riders are not considering this to be an issue even after watching and reading such horrors in the news. The worst part is that it is done to save a few rupees,” she said.
“Motorcycles are not engineered to transport three people and there is a maximum allowed load for every vehicle,” said Steve Abraham, a motorcycle enthusiast from Hyderabad.
“The average load for motorcycles is 120-140 kg, the weight of two people. When overloaded, the engine acts weird and the bike’s structural rigidity will be under stress. The centre of gravity will take a hit and the rider could easily lose balance,” he said.
He added that the seats in motorcycles nowadays are barely enough for two, let alone three. and be implemented by a few,” said the official.
This year, the Hyderabad city police has recorded 90 road accident-related deaths, with 823 persons reported injured. There were 311 road-related deaths in 2017 with 2,387 injured. In 2016, the death toll stood at 405.