Speed Thrills but Kills
I bet many of you are familiar with this wise saying. A big signboard beside the road on highways with this message is not just a message that you can afford to ignore like traffic lights in the capital city. Although there is no punishment if you don’t give a damn about the sign, but when you are subjected to, the chances are your soul is already in the afterlife.
Last day, I went on a short tour of the neighbouring district. I was with my wifu and it was more like a highway-date rather than a purposeful visit to a relative. This ‘date’ thing never happened to us, not the way youngsters these days do (I am a bit old for this and it was a taboo back in my days ;)) But inspired by the recent chaotic situation I was facing, this was a part of the plan— a much-needed escape from a mental breakdown.
The highways on our part are notoriously crowded. Debris and potholes make it even worse. There is a certain type of vehicle I am afraid of and there is plenty of it here— not to mention overspeeding local buses and overloaded trucks as long as 32 feet or even more!
But they are okay. Their presence doesn’t bother me at all cause I have been dealing with them ever since I learned to ride a motorbike and that’s roughly 18 years now.
So, the journey began. And here are a few snippets for what I am writing this.
Photo by Wayne Bishop on Unsplash
Snippet 1:
The majority of the riders don’t wear any helmets. Even though a few drivers had them, none of the pillions bothered to wear one as if they don’t need it because they aren’t driving(?!). And I have seen every motorbike crossing me at more than 70-80ish if not 100 at times. It’s not like I don’t like speeding but riding the vibration-king aka TVS Stryker, I had to sacrifice speed for comfort.
Snippet 2:
3 operators used to run in this route (Khulna-Jessore-Jhenaidah-Kushtia). Unfortunately, one of them got cancelled. I don’t know the reason but it seems to be overspeeding and a large number of road accidents are caused by that specific operator. Now the remaining two are not saints but things are not as reckless as it was in the past. Still, every time I encountered any of them on the road, either they are overtaking trucks with no space for me to cross (I had to push brakes and stop to avoid collisions) or racing with the other operator.
Snippet 3:
An Apache 4V racing with a car! They crossed me like a stormy wind and if I’m not wrong, there was roughly an 8-10 feet gap between them. Running at over 80 (I assume), I don’t know what will happen to that motorbike behind if the car has to hit the emergency brake.
Snippet 4:
An empty truck was rushing as if there is no tomorrow. For a moment, I thought it has lost control as I saw it moving zig-zag and I slowed down a bit just in case I had to abandon the street to avoid accidents.
Snippet 5:
I was driving gently, about 45-50 as that’s the highest I can go if I don't want to be thrown away by this beast(!!). A small pick-up truck converted to a passager van was overtaking a truck and I was closing on them with every passing second. For the moment, I thought there is enough space for me to cross the minivan and truck side by side. Yes, there was enough space but it was a close call. When the crossing happened, a sudden gust of wind almost made the bike imbalanced and the minivan was a few centimetres away from my right-side rear view. This could end in bad news for you unless He saved us there.
Snippet 6:
Now, this is interesting. When I was crossing a border-side area, I saw a Suzuki with two riders, of course, no helmet, carrying a much unfamiliar-shaped bottle, a big one with a prolonged neck, between them. They were smiling as if today is their day. And I put my focus on the roads knowing that I don’t have a chance :)
So, when I was thinking about things I saw on the roads, it puts me into thinking why we have such a low number of road accidents when we are this reckless, this agile and careless. Perhaps, the Almighty is saving our lives more often than He should. And we must be thankful to Him for that. May Allah save us all— Ameen!
Man bikes have become so risky and it's not always the riders who are to blame. I agree a lot of the times it's the recklessness of the driver that leads to accidents, but a fair share of the blame has to be on the drivers of surrounding vehicles...more specifically buses (all forms...mini micro leguna feguna(!) whatever) and trucks. There's a saying in the medical wards : If the patient is a bus or truck driver, unless and until proven otherwise he is on some sort of drugs. And my word this seems so evident in the way they drive! No one in their sane minds can drive like that, and yet it seems the normal way to drive and we have learned to accept these eccentricities.
Absolutely, you gotta be crazy to jeopardise 40-50 lives you are responsible for when you are the bus driver. It's the lack of structural monitoring that creates opportunities for overspeeding and reckless driving. Although there are speed limits, they aren't monitored closely except for specific checkpoints and all drivers know where those places are. So, they reduce speed right before the spot and resume shortly after. Shohagh paribahan is one example how respective authorities can prevent overspeeding- they lock their buses at 100kmph, which is fairly safe for a bus to take control when needed. If the same applies to every operator, there will be fewer road accidents and casualties.
By the way, winter fog is yet to be seen rapidly. You will see a hike in accident patients once the roads are less visible, right? And I think you are already struggling to handle the crowd of cold-related patients, mostly children. May Allah give you strength to serve them all.
Snippet 6!! 😅
I have seen this scenario many times, whether they are carrying the bottle or have just finished one and enjoying the thrill as there is no tomorrow. If you are living in these border-side areas then it's a normal thing to hear about accidents due to these morons.
🤣
