All 'this-happens-only-in-India' jokes apart, witnessing an entire family clinging precariously onto a single two-wheeler vehicle and zipping through the City's crowded roads has become so common that most commuters have turned indifferent to it.
![Tricky ride: Many Bangaloreans ignore the rule of carrying only two adults on a motorcycle.]( "Tricky ride: Many Bangaloreans ignore the rule of carrying only two adults on a motorcycle.")
Overloaded motorcycles have been a common sight in Bangalore for years now.
No matter how many awareness drives, warnings or cases are doled out by the City's traffic police, the issue shows no immediate signs of abating.
What makes this rather worrying isn't just that a law is being broken — riding a bike with several people on it poses a real risk, since the rider can't maintain balance all the time.
Added to it the fact that Bangalore's roads aren't a breeze to drive on at the best of times, this is a real recipe for disaster.
M A Saleem, the additional commissioner of police (traffic), admits that in most such cases, the issue is of 'triple-riding' — that is, three adults on a single motorcycle.
"The law permits two adults on a bike but often, people try to triple ride. In such instances, we book cases against them," he says. When it comes to children, however, the response becomes a bit more complicated.
"If there are only two or three children on the bike, we generally don't book a case — but beyond that it is very dangerous. It would be better for large families to hire an autorickshaw," he adds.
In the absence of swift and organised transport system in the City, crowding a single bike is possibly the only way available to a large section of people. Transporting a family of four or five by bus isn't always easy and for most people, autorickshaws — with their seriously hiked rates — are out of the question.
As Debraj, a professional and avid biker, points out, "There is no other means of transportation open to most people. Given how expensive other forms of public transport are, it's no wonder people prefer overloading their bikes. A lot of school and college kids tend to do that as well; I suppose they feel they can handle the vehicle even with the extra load."
However, he himself holds no illusions about the safety of such 'daring acts'. "From personal experience, I can say that an overloaded bike is a serious issue. By simply carrying two more people on my vehicle, I find it difficult to maintain my balance," he explains.
Varun, a professional, agrees that the matter shouldn't be taken lightly. "It's very dangerous. I once witnessed an accident on M G Road — an auto streaked across the road and a family of four on a scooter lost their balance. They crashed into a nearby lamp post and the two children were quite badly injured," he recalls.
Malini, a mother of two, points out that most people tend to dismiss the risk that overloading a bike could pose. "Everyone assumes that accidents won't happen to them," she notes, adding, "people continue to flout this rule in Bangalore like they used to do a decade ago."
However, not everyone agrees with this view. Varun feels that there has been a
reduction in the number of such instances he's personally noticed over the years.
"It has reduced, but not very drastically. Many families can't upgrade to a car because vehicle loans aren't very easily available to the lower and lower middle class. Buying a new vehicle means making a huge downpayment, which is not feasible to a lot of people," he reasons.
Overloaded motorcycles have been a common sight in Bangalore for years now.No matter how many awareness drives, warnings or cases are doled out by the City's traffic police, the issue shows no immediate signs of abating.
What makes this rather worrying isn't just that a law is being broken — riding a bike with several people on it poses a real risk, since the rider can't maintain balance all the time.
Added to it the fact that Bangalore's roads aren't a breeze to drive on at the best of times, this is a real recipe for disaster.
M A Saleem, the additional commissioner of police (traffic), admits that in most such cases, the issue is of 'triple-riding' — that is, three adults on a single motorcycle.
"The law permits two adults on a bike but often, people try to triple ride. In such instances, we book cases against them," he says. When it comes to children, however, the response becomes a bit more complicated.
"If there are only two or three children on the bike, we generally don't book a case — but beyond that it is very dangerous. It would be better for large families to hire an autorickshaw," he adds.
In the absence of swift and organised transport system in the City, crowding a single bike is possibly the only way available to a large section of people. Transporting a family of four or five by bus isn't always easy and for most people, autorickshaws — with their seriously hiked rates — are out of the question.
As Debraj, a professional and avid biker, points out, "There is no other means of transportation open to most people. Given how expensive other forms of public transport are, it's no wonder people prefer overloading their bikes. A lot of school and college kids tend to do that as well; I suppose they feel they can handle the vehicle even with the extra load."
However, he himself holds no illusions about the safety of such 'daring acts'. "From personal experience, I can say that an overloaded bike is a serious issue. By simply carrying two more people on my vehicle, I find it difficult to maintain my balance," he explains.
Varun, a professional, agrees that the matter shouldn't be taken lightly. "It's very dangerous. I once witnessed an accident on M G Road — an auto streaked across the road and a family of four on a scooter lost their balance. They crashed into a nearby lamp post and the two children were quite badly injured," he recalls.
Malini, a mother of two, points out that most people tend to dismiss the risk that overloading a bike could pose. "Everyone assumes that accidents won't happen to them," she notes, adding, "people continue to flout this rule in Bangalore like they used to do a decade ago."
However, not everyone agrees with this view. Varun feels that there has been a
reduction in the number of such instances he's personally noticed over the years.
"It has reduced, but not very drastically. Many families can't upgrade to a car because vehicle loans aren't very easily available to the lower and lower middle class. Buying a new vehicle means making a huge downpayment, which is not feasible to a lot of people," he reasons.