Autorickshaws in Bangladesh have their side-view mirrors inside the vehicles while the rear-view mirrors are of no use because polythene sheets on the rear window blur the view and passengers block it. The drivers’ inability to clearly see approaching vehicles naturally makes the autorickshaws more vulnerable to accidents, bdnews24.com reports.
Owners and drivers say they have been forced to keep the wing mirror, which they call the “looking glass”, inside the vehicles on orders from the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, or BRTA.
BRTA officials have denied issuing any such order, but autorickshaw drivers and owners have faced no action for removing side-view mirrors from the exterior of the vehicles.
Millat Hossain, 43, said he has been driving an autorickshaw in Dhaka for a decade without being able to see properly on any side but the front.
The autorickshaws still had side-view mirrors on the exterior when two-stroke engines were banned and four-stroke ones were introduced, Millat recalled.
"All of a sudden, an order came to put the mirrors inside. Initially, it was tough to drive like this. But I’ve got used to it now.”
“It is impossible to drive on the streets of Dhaka without mirrors. Right to left, front to back, cars are huddled together,” said Md Babul, a microbus driver.
"Every time before steering the vehicle on either side, we [the drivers] need to look at the wing mirror. It’s amazing that autorickshaws are running in Dhaka city without the mirrors.”
According to the BRTA, 15,000 registered autorickshaws are operating in Dhaka. In 2001, the government removed the two-stroke autorickshaws called “baby taxies” and allotted autorickshaws to their respective owners.
The BRTA approved 13,000 autorickshaws in the capital in several phases until 2004. Later in 2015, 2,000 more autorickshaws were approved after a ban on the “mishuk” three-wheelers were imposed.
In neighbouring India, however, autorickshaws have wing mirrors on the exterior of the vehicle.
“They [wing mirrors] were always outside. Two-stroke autorickshaws that had run on Dhaka's streets for about 55 years had their mirrors outside,” said Barkat Ullah Bulu, president of the Dhaka Metropolitan CNG Autorickshaw Owners' Association.
"Even after the introduction of CNG autorickshaws, the mirrors were outside for 10-12 years. Suddenly, the BRTA issued an order to put them inside,” he claimed.
He also claimed the BRTA issued the order because “some women's organisations had complained that the drivers harass women by looking at them through the mirrors”.
"Now BRTA does not give a fitness certificate unless the mirrors are welded inside.”
BRTA Deputy Director Sitangshu Sekhar Biswas said he was unaware of any such order and seemed surprised to hear it.
“The mirror is provided so drivers can see the vehicles behind them on either side. Why keep it inside and not use it?”
He also wanted to see a copy of the BRTA order. When contacted, owners’ leader Bulu could not provide one. “Such old records are not preserved,” Bulu said.
At the BRTA office in Dhaka's Mirpur, all autorickshaws waiting for the renewal of documents had their side-view mirrors on the interior.
Drivers said most of the time they get the papers by paying middlemen without a proper check by the authorities.
Driver Amir Ali, who came for a route permit, said his autorickshaw has the mirrors inside, but he received a fitness certificate a few days ago.
Ruhul Amin, assistant director of engineering at BRTA, insisted the mirrors should be outside the autorickshaws.
Asked how the autorickshaws are still operating on the streets with the mirrors inside, he said, “A verbal order has been issued this week to put the mirrors outside for fitness certificates.”
After hearing a writ petition, the High Court on Aug 31, 2021 sought the opinion of the mechanical engineering department of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, or BUET, on whether the autorickshaw mirrors should be inside or outside.
The petitioner, Supreme Court lawyer Tanvir Ahmed argued in the hearing that the side-view mirrors should be on the exterior of vehicles following the law.