Motorcyclists throw caution to wind

Swerving to avoid cars, saving themselves from toppling over, and disregarding all traffic safety rules just to transport heavy items on their bikes is routine for the twin cities’ motorcyclists.

Usually the biker’s excuse for putting their lives at risk to transport goods that outweigh the motorcycle itself, is sky-high transport fares coupled with inflation and rising fare prices aided by costly petrol have strengthened the excuse further.

So much so that previously incidents of transporting heavy goods was confined to rural areas around Islamabad and Rawalpindi but now the practice is rampant on the cities’ busy main roads as well. Zamrud Ahmed, who has welded a cage onto his bike’s frame and uses it to transport fruits and vegetables, denied any risks with overloading his motorcycle instead terming it as a good business opportunity. “I charge a lower price to deliver goods compared to loader vehicles and can get it there faster,” he proudly said.

Ahmed further informed that to date he had neither been fined nor stopped by the traffic police. The traffic police’s apparent leniency with overloading encourages all alike. Nawazish Malik, a resident of the capital who had just got done tying a huge box on the seat leaving little space for himself, said that the box did not weigh much.

“These are all bakery items so I can easily navigate my motorcycle. I have been transporting goods on my bike for a while now to support my family,” Malik sheepishly informed The Express Tribune. Like an extreme sport, bikers of the twin cities’ have the habit of testing the motorcycle’s weight carrying limit with 4 people riding a bike, also a fairly common sight.

Some like Khurshid Raja, push the limit even further by seating two and carrying goods - in this case a heavy water pipe.

“The loader vehicle demanded Rs 1,000 from me so to save that money my friend and I just decided to balance it on the motorcycle between us,” Raja said. Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) Traffic, Islamabad, Rai Mazhar, when inquired about the leniency, told The Express Tribune that it was not permissible to use motorcycles as a means of transportation of goods. “The motorbike is a safe transport for only two individuals,” he said,  “motorcyclists carrying goods that are four to five feet in circumference on either side of the motorcycle or are heavier than the motorcycle are fined and such bikes are also confiscated.”

 The spokesman for Traffic Police Rawalpindi, Kashif Sultan, concurring with Mazhar’s assessment, conceded that the issue was a persistent problem in the twin cities.

“In densely populated areas, there is zero tolerance for such traffic rule offenders and all violators are heavily fined,” Sultan told The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 10^th, 2022.