By Sarah Titterton Last updated at 10:31 AM on 29th April 2009
How does a large family commute anywhere if they have no car and little money? As this picture proves, there are no problems, only solutions. What appears to be an entire family of eight have all piled cheerfully on to one motorcycle.
The three children, two men, two women and a baby are clinging to one another tightly, their hair blowing in the breeze - as they are, of course, compounding their danger by riding without helmets. Their lives appear to be in the hands of one of the men - clad in a dark purple shirt, he is the driver.
His control of the motorbike is compromised by the three children crammed on the saddle in front of him however. One hopes they only have to travel in a straight line, as he will find it very difficult to turn the bike with the three children there. Of course, the weight he is carrying on the back of the motorbike will not help either.
To go around corners on a motorbike, the driver must lean into the turn. That is always more difficult to do when carrying a passenger - if the passenger does not lean with the bike also, or if they lean too little or too much, the driver could lose control.
Unless you are an experienced rider, that's difficult enough to manage with one passenger. With seven, it must be just about impossible. The driver will also find stopping difficult. When you stop on a motorbike, you have to put your feet down to balance the bike and keep it upright. But the weight of seven other people on the bike will be too much for the driver to support on his own, so the adults will have to put their feet down also at any stoplight.
They will all have to then make sure they lift their feet in tandem as the driver starts again - if he tries to accelerate while one person still has their feet on the ground, the entire operation could fall apart. As for the two women, one man and a baby on the back of the vehicle, they are perhaps in the greatest danger.
A spokesman for The Cambodia Trust, which trains staff from countries such as Cambodia and Sri Lanka to make braces and prosthetic limbs for accident victims and the disabled, said: 'This is a common picture in countries such as Cambodia, where we run rehabilitation projects for people disabled in traffic accidents, landmine accidents, etc.
'The number of people disabled in traffic accidents in the developing world is increasing every year. 'People are driven to take risks because of their poverty - however once someone has lost a limb in a road accident, they are trapped in the cycle of poverty, unable to work and support their families.'
Statistics have shown that in motorbike accidents those riding pillion are usually injured more seriously than the driver as they are flung from the vehicle. The baby strapped to his mother's back appears to be in the most danger of all as his little feet dangle over empty air.
The pictures were found on Chinese blog www.bbs.163.com. They appear to have been taken by a curious passenger on a bus or a truck driving along the highway next to the unidentified family.
It's not known who the family were, where they were going, or why they didn't simply choose to ride the bus instead. But it's safe to say that in this case more than ever, it was not the destination that was the adventure - it was the journey.
How does a large family commute anywhere if they have no car and little money? As this picture proves, there are no problems, only solutions. What appears to be an entire family of eight have all piled cheerfully on to one motorcycle.
And baby too: The family whizzes by the vehicle clinging tightly to the motorbike
The man in the dark purple shirt appears to be the one in control
The three children, two men, two women and a baby are clinging to one another tightly, their hair blowing in the breeze - as they are, of course, compounding their danger by riding without helmets. Their lives appear to be in the hands of one of the men - clad in a dark purple shirt, he is the driver.
His control of the motorbike is compromised by the three children crammed on the saddle in front of him however. One hopes they only have to travel in a straight line, as he will find it very difficult to turn the bike with the three children there. Of course, the weight he is carrying on the back of the motorbike will not help either.
To go around corners on a motorbike, the driver must lean into the turn. That is always more difficult to do when carrying a passenger - if the passenger does not lean with the bike also, or if they lean too little or too much, the driver could lose control.
And away they go: The family putt off into the distance
It's hard to tell where the family are - though, fortunately for them, the sun is shining. They would have been in even MORE danger had the roads been wet with rain
Unless you are an experienced rider, that's difficult enough to manage with one passenger. With seven, it must be just about impossible. The driver will also find stopping difficult. When you stop on a motorbike, you have to put your feet down to balance the bike and keep it upright. But the weight of seven other people on the bike will be too much for the driver to support on his own, so the adults will have to put their feet down also at any stoplight.
They will all have to then make sure they lift their feet in tandem as the driver starts again - if he tries to accelerate while one person still has their feet on the ground, the entire operation could fall apart. As for the two women, one man and a baby on the back of the vehicle, they are perhaps in the greatest danger.
A spokesman for The Cambodia Trust, which trains staff from countries such as Cambodia and Sri Lanka to make braces and prosthetic limbs for accident victims and the disabled, said: 'This is a common picture in countries such as Cambodia, where we run rehabilitation projects for people disabled in traffic accidents, landmine accidents, etc.
'The number of people disabled in traffic accidents in the developing world is increasing every year. 'People are driven to take risks because of their poverty - however once someone has lost a limb in a road accident, they are trapped in the cycle of poverty, unable to work and support their families.'
Pit stop: The family pull over for a quick break - with the mother and baby disembarking first
Statistics have shown that in motorbike accidents those riding pillion are usually injured more seriously than the driver as they are flung from the vehicle. The baby strapped to his mother's back appears to be in the most danger of all as his little feet dangle over empty air.
The pictures were found on Chinese blog www.bbs.163.com. They appear to have been taken by a curious passenger on a bus or a truck driving along the highway next to the unidentified family.
It's not known who the family were, where they were going, or why they didn't simply choose to ride the bus instead. But it's safe to say that in this case more than ever, it was not the destination that was the adventure - it was the journey.
kerenn.. salut gw ini mah bukan bolu (bonceng tilu) lagi.. tapi udah boluh mereun (bonceng sepuluh). wakaka..
ReplyDeleteYang hebat mah motor nya...hahaha....ga papa tuh motornya? kasian bener motornya.wkwkwk
ReplyDelete