Before this year’s Eid-ul-Azha, a probe committee was formed by the government to know the causes behind too high a rate of fatal road accidents on the highways during the Eid travel. The committee found out, to our consternation, that plying of two-wheeler motorcycles was the major culprit for accidents and came with a recommendation of banning motorcycles on the highways for one week during the Eid.
The government also looked very encouraged to stop plying of the bikes, though there was a great resentment among the motorcyclists about the decision. They complained that this decision was another way the syndicate of private service owners wanted to stop their ride sharing influencing the government. In these days of huge unemployment, for many a bike of about taka two lakh has become a means for earning livelihood and, during Eid time, they earned more money on the highways by ride sharing.
The media as well as people who have fair knowledge of the monopoly of the syndicate of bus owners — they are politicians as well — over the administration sensed wrong and criticized the government decision of motorcycle ban on the highway. Soon after celebrations of Eid, Bridges and Communications Minister Obaidul Quader boasted before the media that the banning decision was right as there were very few road accidents on the highway.
After a few days’ wait the actual figure of fatalities surfaced in the media yesterday and it was revealed that the death toll from Eid road crashes was seven years high during this Eid. There were at least 319 accidents across the country during 15 days of Eid travels, from 3 July to 17 July, leaving 440 people dead and another 774 wounded. What will the minister say now about the figure, and also the banning of motorcycles? Did the ban work?
True, plying of motorcycles is also one of the reasons for accidents, but reckless driving and lack of road signs and street lights are the key reasons for the accidents. Defects in highway construction, tendency to violate traffic rules, substandard vehicles, extortion on the roads, and transportation of passengers in cargo vehicles are also responsible for the accidents.
Therefore, to prevent road accidents as the Passenger Welfare Association of Bangladesh suggested, it is necessary to keep highways lighted at night, separate lanes for slow and fast vehicles as well as motorcycles, take action against extortion on roads, fix salary and working hours for drivers, and properly implement the Road Transport Act.
