NEWS reports in a national daily said unfit vehicles are like ‘tricking time bombs’ running in Roads and Highways to cause huge casualties in accidents that often take place throughout the country. The problem for road accidents are lawlessness on roads. Not only unfit buses and trucks easily get fitness certificates. Then there are unfit traffic police responsible for controlling traffic movements and failing awfully. The higher authority in police is busy with clearing VIP cars most obediently.
One has to go to Gazipur road-crossing from Dhaka to see the extent of mismanagement of traffic. The vehicles at this crossing had to wait nearly two-hour during every evening rush hours because traffic police do not give any importance to the sufferings of the people.
The reports quoting a motor vehicle expert as telling a seminar in the city that many vehicles have fitness certificates even though they are unfit while some don’t have the document at all or have fake papers while plying on roads. The expert had earlier visited the head-on collision site of two buses at Mulibari on the west side of Bangabandhu Bridge on July 19 this year which took 18 lives with 40 others injured. He said the two buses were similar in size but only three people died in one; which was technically fit while 15 others died in other bus running unfit. Like many other buses, the structure of the unfit bus was modified to increase the number of seats to carry more passengers. All the seats came off their mountings from the shock of the accident proving that the seats were also improperly fixed. In his view the total death could have been much less, may be six to seven, if the bus was running fit.
At another crash at Boraigram upazila of Natore on October 20 last year in which 37 people were killed and 40 injured in head-on collision, both were unfit plying on the highways evading law enforcers’ notice. Not only buses, launches in the river routes, particularly during Eid vacation make similar repair of unfit vehicles claiming innumerable casualties in accidents.
No capital city has so many buses in such unfit conditions causing concerns for us. The reason is so many influential retired police officials and others are involved in bus business.
But the problem will not be solved because if that happens bus and truck business must suffer. Let the common people die and suffer for no police control. Private cars also are easily harassed for one reason or the other.
Let the traffic police show efficiency and honesty in applying the law.
One has to go to Gazipur road-crossing from Dhaka to see the extent of mismanagement of traffic. The vehicles at this crossing had to wait nearly two-hour during every evening rush hours because traffic police do not give any importance to the sufferings of the people.
The reports quoting a motor vehicle expert as telling a seminar in the city that many vehicles have fitness certificates even though they are unfit while some don’t have the document at all or have fake papers while plying on roads. The expert had earlier visited the head-on collision site of two buses at Mulibari on the west side of Bangabandhu Bridge on July 19 this year which took 18 lives with 40 others injured. He said the two buses were similar in size but only three people died in one; which was technically fit while 15 others died in other bus running unfit. Like many other buses, the structure of the unfit bus was modified to increase the number of seats to carry more passengers. All the seats came off their mountings from the shock of the accident proving that the seats were also improperly fixed. In his view the total death could have been much less, may be six to seven, if the bus was running fit.
At another crash at Boraigram upazila of Natore on October 20 last year in which 37 people were killed and 40 injured in head-on collision, both were unfit plying on the highways evading law enforcers’ notice. Not only buses, launches in the river routes, particularly during Eid vacation make similar repair of unfit vehicles claiming innumerable casualties in accidents.
No capital city has so many buses in such unfit conditions causing concerns for us. The reason is so many influential retired police officials and others are involved in bus business.
But the problem will not be solved because if that happens bus and truck business must suffer. Let the common people die and suffer for no police control. Private cars also are easily harassed for one reason or the other.
Let the traffic police show efficiency and honesty in applying the law.
