Should runners face curfews? Fatal crash divides Malé

The crash threw two teenagers on the motorbike under a pickup truck, fatally injuring the 17-year-old driver, Mohamed Yoosuf Alsan, the only child of singers Mohamed Abdul Ghani and Mariyam Ashfa.

His death reignited a fierce debate about who belongs on the capital's crowded streets, echoing the reaction to previous tragic accidents and playing out in a predictable pattern of renewed concern and road safety awareness activities. 

"Life is more important than being late!" read boards held up by police officers across hotspots in Hulhumalé, with vehicles laid out on the road to depict the scene of an accident. Near the Hiya flats in phase two, an impassioned police officer on the side of the road beseeched drivers using a loudspeaker. 

According to police statistics, 1,101 accidents were reported from January to July within Malé and on the Sinamalé bridge and highway, six percent of which resulted in serious injuries. The most common accident involved the collision of motorcycles and cars.

In the aftermath of Alsan's death, however, attention turned to pedestrians and whether runners should face new limitations.

The accident on the night of July 13 occurred when the motorcycle crashed into the  jogger as he stepped on to the zebra crossing near the Marrybrown restaurant. 

The 40-year-old man has since been taken off ventilator support but remains in the intensive care unit. The 16-year-old boy who was behind Alsan was discharged after treatment.

Appearing on Raajje TV in the wake of the crash, the traffic police chief criticised the jogger's role in the accident. "Especially on a road like Boduthakurufaanu Magu, a fast driving road, you must only get on a zebra cross after looking at vehicles and ensuring that the vehicles have stopped," said Inspector Tholhath Ahmed,

A vehicle could be unable to stop due to a mechanical fault, he added.

He advised joggers to wear bright-coloured clothes to make themselves more noticeable at night. A jogger had also been involved in a previous accident near the Marrybrown restaurant, he noted, referring to the collision of a car and a double-decker bus that claimed the life of a 23-year-old woman in July 2022.

“If it’s recurring, that means we need to pay attention somewhat and designate times for doing it. Some sort of restrictions need to be placed during peak traffic hours,” he said. 

Similar sentiments and calls for a jogging ban sparked a backlash on social media.

Restricting running should be "out of the question" for a densely-packed city like Malé, Hussain Shujau, the coach of the local running community iRunners, told the Maldives Independent. Joggers prefer the ring road for safety over narrower alleys that often lack pavements, he said.

Regardless of other elements surrounding specific accidents, speeding remains the common denominator, Shujau stressed, suggesting ways to make Malé more walkable.

"Pavements should be pedestrian-friendly and inclusive. As they are now, roads are not accessible for wheelchair users. Roadside signage, plants and trees can also be planted while also leaving space for pedestrians," he said.

Shujau agreed that bright clothing would help and recommended using reflective tape sold at local hardware shops as a good alternative. Runners could also opt for blinking lights available through online retail platforms, he said.

For those who wear earphones, Shujau advised using them on one ear and disabling noise cancellation. He encouraged runners to be more cautious and mindful of their surroundings.

Shujau also highlighted the lack of punishments for vehicular manslaughter in the Maldives, whereas most other countries impose hefty fines and harsh penalties. He referred to the case of British actress Emma Watson who was handed a six-month driving ban and fined £1,044 following a speeding incident.

Last Saturday, opposition lawmaker Meekail Naseem proposed an amendment to the Penal Code to "specifically include motorised land vehicles under the reckless endangerment category."

The alleged carelessness of joggers should not be blamed for their involvement in accidents, said Naila Abdul Majeed, a healthcare professional who has been running for more than 20 years.

"Even when I stand literally on the edge of the pavement, motorcycles speed past, sometimes touching us. Adequate space is lacking in pavements too, often there are boxes kept for lading to boats too, then there is no choice but to step on the road," she told the Maldives Independent. 

Naila recalled trying to take advantage of off-peak hours and going running early in the morning. But she felt unsafe after facing harassment as a woman running alone. She no longer carries her phone after her purse was snatched during an early morning run in 2016.

The Maafannu stadium's track – the only dedicated space for runners in Malé, – is a multi-purpose track used for various physical activities, she noted.

"The running track is closed off for school activities and competitions sometimes for a whole week. So are we expected to wait a week without running? We are forced to go outside. We don't want to risk our lives either, we know how reckless drivers are here," she said.

Restricting running to a specific time could also be problematic for people with busy schedules who try to balance work and household responsibilities, she said.

A 47-year-old female runner concurred. "If restrictions are placed on when, where and how I can run, I will simply have to stop running," she said.

Shaarif Ali, who has been running for over a decade, said he stopped running on Malé's roads after feeling unsafe around too many vehicles and obstructions on pavements.  Runners need to look out for themselves because drivers do not, he said.

In light of last week's fatal accident, Shaarif suggested that people who lend motorbikes to minors should also be held accountable.

"Until safer measures are in place, running on the bridge looks to be the way to go," he said.

But Naila, who also now primarily runs on the Sinamalé bridge, observed that the narrow path was too small to accommodate crowds of runners. The bridge's elevation might also make it unsuitable for some people with knee injuries, she said.

"If everyone wants to use that approach, it will be very congested. There's hardly enough space for a pair to run together and then there is the traffic of runners turning back and running towards you as well as those that are running at a faster pace coming from behind you," she said. 

Shaarif urged running against the direction of vehicles. "Even if there is no space on the pavement or no pavement at all, I would not advise running on the road during high traffic hours," he said.

According to Shujau, the majority of people run for the mental and physical health benefits associated with exercise. Most Maldivians start running after they turn 30, often after a doctor advises physical activity five days of the week to avoid heart problems, the coach observed. 

"One key thing is that while it's easy to ask people to buy a treadmill or go to the gym, we have to think from the perspective of the lowest earner or the most disadvantaged in our community," he said.