The decision not to allow battery-run vehicles on roads in the capital city is welcome. The road transport and bridges minister at the first meeting of the Road Transport Authority advisory council committee on May 15 instructed authorities not to allow battery-run vehicles on city roads. Battery-powered rickshaws and vans ply roads in almost all areas of the city while the vehicles also ply major roads at night, defying a ban. As the vehicles gain speed that does not match their fragile structure, they are especially prone to accidents. In such a situation, the instruction appears heartening. What is, however, worrying is that a similar ban on such vehicles on highways could not be properly enforced. The authorities earlier banned three-wheelers and non-motorised vehicles on highways on August 1, 2015 while the High Court on August 3, 2015 also asked the government and the police to keep unfit and unauthorised motor vehicles off the road. The recent Motor Vehicle Speed Limit Guidelines 2024 have also banned any three-wheelers from plying three types of roads 鈥� expressways, national highways and regional highways. But, despite the court order and the government ban, unauthorised battery-run three-wheelers and improvised motorised and non-motorised vehicles have continued to ply roads in the capital city and highways.
Battery-run three-wheelers are unfit because of their structural flaws that make them less stable compared with other vehicles. The involvement of unauthorised three- and four-wheelers, improvised and structurally fragile motorised and non-motorised vehicles, in road accidents has, keeping to an Accident Research Institute study, increased. The minister, in instructing the authorities not to allow battery-run three-wheelers on city roads, admitted that the earlier ban could not be properly implemented. This is what warrants some attention. Although unauthorised and battery-run three-wheelers and improvised motorised and non-motorised vehicles are found involved in a rising number of road accidents 鈥� battery-powered rickshaws were involved in 11.42 per cent road accidents in 2022 鈥� passengers across the country continue to use them as they are not offered alternatives. The minister also supported a proposal at the meeting to ban unfit vehicles from running on the roads and asked the authorities to discuss the matter with transport owners. It appears ironic that the minister needed to support a proposal, which itself is redundant in that the plying of unfit vehicles on roads is already illegal and a punishable offence in the Road Transport Act 2018. Yet, there are about 300,000 unfit vehicles plying the roads. This brings forth the chaotic reality of the road regime, where the relevant laws are largely ignored.
The city authorities and the law enforcers must, therefore, follow the instructions and keep battery-powered rickshaws and vans off the roads. The authorities must also assess the impact of the ban on passengers and arrange for alternative and safe modes of transport for short distances.
