Reckless driving on rise: 307 killed, 16193 hurt in road crashes last yr

A private car skidded off the road and fell into a roadside lake at the base of Kuril Flyover in city on Wednesday. Fire-fighters trying to salvage it.
A private car skidded off the road and fell into a roadside lake at the base of Kuril Flyover in city on Wednesday. Fire-fighters trying to salvage it.
block
Staff Reporter :
Rajib’s death caused by reckless driving on city streets is an unspeakable barbarity adding new fear to commuters. Peoples’ misery knows no bound in city streets as the number of deaths is increasing day by day. According to survey conducted by Bangladesh Passenger Welfare Association, 307 died in road accident alone last year while 16193 were injured.
According to the association, 979 accidents took place last year. On the other hand, BTRA says there are 2920836 registered heavy and light vehicles whereas there are only 17 lakh drivers with valid driving license, which means 12 lakh drivers have no driving license. They are not authorized to drive, and because of these unskilled and unprofessional drivers accidents take place and thousands of people die every year.
Everyday thousands of new vehicles are being added to the existing number of vehicles. However, Road Transport Authority is unaware of whether or not the drivers are skilled. Seeking anonymity, a BRTA director says, “There are many drivers without licenses beyond our list.”
DIG of Dhaka Range Abdullah Al Mamun said to New Nation, “There is no alternative of trained and skilled drivers to prevent road accidents, and to ensure that the owners have to take the responsibilities. A owner must be critical before handing over his vehicle to a driver. He also said that legal actions are taken against drivers without license. He hopes to prevent road accidents if all of us work together.
General Secretary of Bangladesh Road Transport Trade Union Monjurul Ahsan Khan said, Though 12 lakh driver have no license they drive every day. The number of deaths is maintaining because of these unprofessional drivers.”
On the other hand, based on the news published by media, Nirapod Sarok Chai reports that 5645 died in road accident in 2017 whereas it was 4144 in 2016. The number of death has increased by 27.36% from 2016.
Passenger Welfare Association identifies reckless driving, risky overtaking, flaws in highway construction, unfit vehicles, carelessness of passengers and commuters, using mobile phone/headphone while driving, taking drugs, using highways by feeder road vehicles, lack of sidewalks, movement of commuters in roads as the root cause of accidents.
block