It is often observed that motorcycle has become a serious traffic hazard with police looking the other way from traffic violations. Motorcycles are used in multifarious ways. Some of these include using petrol tanks as a seat with two persons riding on the seat provided for the driver. One sees milk cans tied on both sides of the motorcycle thus posing a serious case for accidents. Some ways for misusing motorcycles are dragging a ladder behind a motorcycle or tying a large branch of a tree behind a motorcycle to transport the tree branch. Another misuse of motorcycle is darting in front of cars to change the lanes. Actually separate lane would be needed for hundreds of motorcycle that cannot be contained on normal roads.
The city planners would have to think of new ways to provide space of ever increasing motorcycles on our roads along with strict enforcement of traffic laws. At present the traffic police are standing listlessly on roads while smoking motorcycles are passing by with some having removed their silencer to create deafening noise for road users. Curbs would have to be placed on carrying an entire family of man and wife with five or six kids on the motorcycle with the driver perched precariously on the petrol tank with little control of brakes during emergencies. Actually the traffic police need to curb the mushrooming of motorcycles on our roads in order to devise remedies for safe driving on the city roads.
DR MUHAMMAD YAQOOB BHATTI
Lahore