RECKLESS driving during the Eid journey took lives of 19 passengers and injured 60 others in six districts on Sunday. The situation on roads and highways has slightly been improved but the reckless driving, improvised vehicles, over speed, roadside bazaar and many more yet to address properly. If the accident would not be ceased, the improved roads or hassle-free journey would not bring any fruit.
News media reported that nine people were killed and 20 others injured in a face to face collision between a passenger bus and a human hauler in Sirajganj’s Ullapara. In Munshiganj, a transport worker died and 15 others injured when two buses rammed. In Natore, a minor girl was killed after a microbus overturned in Boraigram Upazila of the district. Road accidents are seemed uncontrolled and there is no authority to stop the procession of deaths on roads. Meanwhile, the National Committee to Protect Shipping, Roads and Railways reported that at least 1,890 people were killed and 3,543 others injured in road accidents in the first five months of this year. A total of 1,792 fatal road accidents occurred on different national highways and inter-district and regional roads between January 1 and May 31 across the country.
The reasons include the tendency of unhealthy competition among drivers and reckless driving, renting out buses on a contractual basis, employing drivers without any license, lack of awareness among pedestrians, motorcyclists and small vehicle drivers, and the tendency of overloading and overtaking among drivers violating traffic rules. Besides, long hours of driving without any interval, lack of implementation of the law to stop plying of unfit vehicles, violation of traffic rules on long routes, increase in number of motorcycles and three-wheelers on roads and highways, and carrying of passengers and goods in locally-made motorised vehicles are also found responsible for the staggering amount of accidents.
Despite the government’s repeated promise and nation-wide anger brewed centring unsafe roads; the rate of accidents is intolerable. The causes of road accidents are widely known but unaddressed largely. We must say, the Authority concerned should take extra precautionary measures to stop fatal accidents on highways during the Eid journey.
