Motorcycles have become the most common method of transportation for the working and middle class Pakistani families. Motorcycles are very cheap as compared to cars and can be bought on monthly installments for as low as 4,000 rupees a month. The Punjab Bureau of Statistics Reports show that motorcycles account for 75% of the registered vehicles. According to the Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association report, 131,539 motorcycles were produced in Pakistan and 130,667 motorcycles were sold in March, 2017 alone. Despite the large quantity of motorcycles being used by Pakistanis, little has been done to provide safety to motorcyclists. Almost 90% of Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs) in Pakistan involve motorcyclists. A vast majority of people who die in RTAs are motorcyclists. Many among the people who pass away are sole breadwinners of their families. These accidents that claim the lives of motorcyclists mostly occur when the rider faces an emergency braking situation.
Imagine yourself driving a motorcycle in dense traffic. If a vehicle comes suddenly in front of you, instinctively, you hit the brakes as hard as you can. In such a situation, there are usually three possibilities. The first possibility, and the most fortunate one, is that you might hit the brakes just right (you might be an experienced driver or out of sheer dumb luck). In such a case, you will avoid the collision and live to tell the tale of how you had a near-death experience. Your families will breathe a sigh of relief and say a word of prayer. The other two possibilities are not so fortunate and, unfortunately, they are more likely to happen. When faced with the emergency braking situation described above, you will either over-brake and skid the wheels or under-brake and cannon into the vehicle in front of you. If you are lucky, you will survive with severe injuries. However, if you are not lucky, you might be one of those people whose families stare at the door for days before realizing that you are never coming back.
RTAs in many cases are caused by inadequate rider training, especially in Pakistan where the idea of rider training is non-existent. Why waste our energies on saving the lives of hardworking breadwinners when we can quarrel about petty issues over and over again? Fortunately, due to the advancement in automobile technology, it is possible to install such braking systems in motorcycles that reduce the stopping distances and provide stability to motorcycle with minimal rider training. The countries that do pay attention to what the public actually needs are way ahead of us in terms of providing safety to people on the road. The European Union has made it compulsory, since 2016, for all motorcycles having engine displacements equal to or less than 125cc to have either Combined Braking System (CBS) or Anti-Lock Braking Systems. While ABS and CBS are both very effective, CBS is cheaper and thus better suited for motorcycles with engine displacements less than 125cc. India has followed suit and after April, 2019 all motorcycles will either have CBS or ABS.
The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics Report, 2014 states that 51,416 people died in RTAs from 2004-2013. This number has increased in successive years. Many of these accidents involve motorcyclists with the inability to handle emergency braking situations. Protecting the lives of the citizenry is one of the most paramount responsibilities of a government. The Parliament of Pakistan should also come up with a law similar to the ones European Union and Parliament of India came up with to ensure better riding conditions for the motorcycle riding working and middle class of Pakistan.