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Backpack users endanger others, risk their health
Backpacks, which many working people and students use, are adding to the inconvenience that commuters suffer in public transport.
They also endanger passengers as they move in and out of public transport including trains. This is so even in lifts.
A regular commuter of the evening train from Ratmalana to Colombo Fort Danushika Weerasekara, 21, said it is difficult for her to get in to the train as people with oversized backpacks block the entrance.
Waiting to board trains at the Fort Railway station. Pic by Sameera Weerasekera
“I can’t push them, and when I tell them, they act as if they don’t hear. It’s very difficult to get in. Even when I manage to get in, I get squeezed as a result of getting between two or more backpacks,’’ she said.
An employee of Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, Namith Gunasekara said most people use backpacks to carry their belongings, in addition to their lunch.
“I take my laptop, so I have to use this backpack to take my laptop charger, documents, as well as phone charger,’’ he said.
He is reluctant to place the backpack on a rack for fear of damaging the laptop.
Drivers of school vans also say they have difficulty managing the space for children due to oversized backpacks. Some have reduced the number of students they transport.
The All-Island Inter-District Schoolchildren’s Transport Association president, N M K Harishchandra Padmasiri, said most school vans appear packed.
“The vehicles looked packed not due to overcrowding, but due to the large school bags. A school van has ample space for 18 children, but with school bags we can only transport 15 children,” he said.
“Though we have fewer passengers we can’t charge more.”
Mr Harishchandara also said accidents happen because of large backpacks that are in some cases bigger than the student.
Most students trip and fall when they get in and out of vehicles as oversized backpacks get stuck between seats, or get caught in the doors.
Bus owners too expressed their dislike of people travelling with huge backpacks. Conductors know the problems that large luggage cause others.
The president of the Private Bus Owner’s Association, Gamunu Wijeratne, acknowledged that office workers carrying backpacks cause difficulties to other passengers.
Bus operators ask people to use the racks but then people who forget to take them back, hold the conductor accountable.
Bus drivers and conductors said some disregard warnings and travel on the footboard with their backpacks. Some suffer falls.
Shantha Kumara, a bus driver operating from Colombo to Moratuwa for over 20 years, said many people carry bigger backpacks, which take up space.
“We tell the backpack users to put them on the racks. They rarely listen and even argue. Now we have come to terms with them and manage the people as best as we can,” he said.
He said that disputes arise among people themselves when backpacks cause obstructions.
“My conductor and I have now understood that people don’t consider our pleas. We don’t blame them. They have so many other things on their minds and also fears of misplacing valuables,’’ he said.
A conductor of a bus to Ampara, Ramachandra Nagaraja, 34, said that people should understand that they would get seriously hurt if they travel on the footboard.
“We always warn them not to block the entrance with backpacks. Even the backpack user can seriously get hurt if they fall as a result of their backpacks getting tangled with another vehicle,’’ he said.
Meanwhile, train drivers too are concerned.
General Secretary of the Locomotive Engineers Union, Indika Dodangaoda, said there have been incidents of backpackers dying when they have struck signal posts and other trains.
People also get hurt by getting pushed and tangled in the backpack when getting in and exiting trains.
“Backpack users and school children with school bags must not block the entrances,” he said.
Mr Dodangaoda added that traveling on footboards and on gaps between compartments is banned, but people ignore it.
Tharanga Sanjeewa Edirisinghe, (27) a businessman, said that backpack users should realise that their bags obstruct others, especially inside elevators.
“Some of the backpack users don’t remove the bags and keep them close to their legs when thy get in. This obstructs other passengers who find it difficult to get in and out,” he said.
He also said backpacks add to the weight capacity of the elevator thereby reducing the number of people who can use the elevator.
However, he also pointed out that fellow users of elevators should realise that people with backpacks use the lift as it would be difficult for them to take the stairs given the weight of their backpacks.
“People must tolerate backpack carriers while they in turn should understand not to inconvenience others,” he added.
The National Coordinator (Training) Accident and Orthopaedic Service at the National Hospital, Pushpa R Zoysa explained that most accidents that occur when people enter and exit buses and trains are due to use of oversized backpacks.
She said there are many instances where people suffer grievous injuries after falling from buses and trains with their backpacks. The backpacks cause people to lose balance.
There are also health complications arising from the use of backpacks.
“If the weight the people are carrying is not properly distributed among the shoulders there can be discomfort in the shoulders and lower back regions,” she said.
She said schoolchildren who carry heavy loads in their backpacks slouch in order to balance the weight, which could result in back pain and other complications to the spinal chord,
“Muscle damage to upper shoulder areas too can occur as a result of the compression from the backpack straps.’’
She advises using small backpacks and not carrying heavy loads.
| Luggage cars proposed for backpacks The Railways Department should also provide foreign tourists and long distance travelers separate compartments to transport their large bag packs and luggage, said the general secretary of the Locomotive Engineers Union Indika Dodangaoda. He added that both backpackers and commuters face difficulty as the large bags and backpacks obstruct local passengers. “Earlier, railways offered such services and they are capable of enforcing a law on the size of backpacks — 15 kilogram backpacks without paying extra charges. But now this is not strictly followed,” he said. He also said that the railway security must step in when local and foreign backpackers obstruct passengers. “It would be nice if the railway authorities maintain luggage compartments in long distance trains and provide security.’’ | |