Nine persons, of them six family members, were killed and three others received injuries when a passenger bus collided with a microbus on Dhaka-Mawa highway at Sreenagar in Munshiganj on Friday. The microbus carrying a groom’s party was heading towards Keraniganj in Dhaka from Louhajang. The mishap occurred as the speeding bus of Swadhin Paribahan of Dhaka-Mawa route was overtaking another bus on the tiny road.
Driver of the microbus and its seven passengers died on the spot. One of the injured later succumbed to injuries at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital. Police seized both the vehicles from the spot but driver and helper of the bus managed to escape the scene.
In preliminary investigation and based on circumstantial evidences it was found that bus driver’s negligence had caused the fatal road accident. Vehicles were temporarily plying through the single lane on the Dhaka-Mawa highway’s accident prone zone, as another lane was blocked for development work. The maximum speed of a vehicle should not be more than 30kmph there but the bus hit the vehicle at a speed between 70-80kmp. The bus speed could be presumed seeing wreckage of the microbus.
About 2,329 people, including 291 women and 381 children, were killed and 4,361 others injured in 2,159 road accidents across Bangladesh in the first half (January to June) of 2019. At least 7,221 people died in road accidents across the country in 2018. The number was 4,284 in 2017 when 9,112 others were also injured in accidents. Besides, a total of 3,412 people died and 8,572 others were injured in 2016.
In the recent years, there has been an alarming rise in road accidents which has become a national problem. Approximately, eight persons die in road traffic accidents every day, but the actual rate of fatality is likely to be even higher.
In particular, if we want to say about Friday’s fatal accident on Dhaka-Mawa highway; it was not merely an accident. Rather it was a tragic episode of killings. Though the bus was going through an accident-prone area of the congested road into over speed, we see no activity of Highway Police there. If there was any on-duty police officer or even a mobile team of Highway Police, the accident may not have been happened.
The traffic department of police has a crucial role to play in identifying and holding accountable reckless driving, speeding and overloaded vehicles, but it seems their activities are too poor in comparison to country’s vast traffic movement.
As the police often remain inactive, the unskilled drivers ply their buses and trucks with over speed on the highways without fear of legal action. There is no way only to blame one-sidedly the drivers and transport owners when police don’t discharge their duty sincerely and efficiently.
It’s hard to understand for us why protective measures are not yet taken in the highways to save people’s lives when billions of taka has been spending in the name of construction and repairing of roads. If sufficient number of close-circuit-cameras along with speed measurement tools is installed, it wouldn’t possible for the drivers to run their vehicles over speed dodging the police surveillance.
Despite having a separate ministry on road transport affair, the high rate of fatal accidents on highways has become an alarming issue at present in Bangladesh. It’s the proper time to confront this multifaceted challenge.
What is most disappointing is that amid the deaths of people on roads the government is indifferent other than passing a harsher law. The government takes the whole nation deservedly as fools. The government passes new law when it lacks competence of duly applying the existing laws for preventing road accidents.
Law itself does not change to make roads safe unless highway police and political authority concerned show competence for ensuring enforcement of the law. Deaths on roads are soaring with causing huge public alarm but the police take no responsibility. There are no police on the highway to supervise observance of the law. The main responsibility must be borne by the government to see police are in charge of safety of the road users.
It is not acceptable that the entire blame should be shifted on bus and truck drivers or their owners. The government is failing everywhere and yet it remains in power happily.
The government must admit its own incompetence to make roads safe. Starting police cases help corruption but the roads remain death traps. We find the minister concerned is busy attacking the opposition.
