Why speed matters on three wheels
An auto-rickshaw has a narrower base than a car, and its three wheels do not support it symmetrically through every turn. In a sharp maneuver, sideways forces can shift the vehicle’s weight toward the outside wheels. If that shift becomes large enough, the inside wheels can lift and the rickshaw may tip. A lower top speed reduces the force pushing it outward through the turn.
The risk is not limited to corners. A passenger vehicle may be loaded unevenly, and rough roads or sudden steering corrections can add instability. Keeping its maximum speed modest leaves more room for drivers to respond before a small disturbance becomes a loss of control.
A little less speed changes the stopping problem
At higher speed, a vehicle travels farther while the driver reacts and needs more distance to brake. Braking distance also grows steeply with speed: under similar conditions, doubling speed can require roughly four times the distance to stop. That matters in dense traffic, where a rickshaw may have to react to a pedestrian, a motorcycle, or a vehicle stopping abruptly ahead.
A speed restriction can be imposed through operating rules or built into a vehicle’s performance; the precise method varies. Either way, it sets a ceiling on how quickly the rickshaw can enter a turn or close on traffic. The aim is not to make every maneuver safe, but to reduce the consequences of the mistakes and surprises that crowded streets make hard to avoid.
