Md. Zillur Rahaman :
Countless lives are being lost in road accidents in the country every day, many are being injured and living miserable lives. The death march in the accident is not stopping at all. We hear about various steps being taken by the government to prevent accidents but the accident did not decrease, reckless traffic did not stop, this means that there are many flaws in the measures taken to prevent accidents or to make them effective. It is very important to eliminate them. The rate of road accidents is very high in the country. According to one statistic, 80 percent of road accidents are caused by non-stop driving, speeding and carelessness of the driver. This is the rule for a driver to rest after four or five hours of continuous driving, but no driver in the country follows this rule at all. As a result, when a tired driver drives a car, the risk of an accident is naturally higher. This is mainly due to the excessive business attitude of the bus owners. The government needs strict surveillance to curb this alarming trend.
According to a recent report by the Road Safety Foundation, which works on safe road and vehicle accidents, 6,284 people were killed and 7,468 injured in 5,371 road accidents in the country in 2021. The highest number of accidents and deaths were reported in Dhaka division, which killed 1,545 people in 1,344 accidents and the lowest in Rangpur division, where 443 people were killed in 398 accidents. Besides, 147 people were killed in railway accidents and 169 in naval accidents. The road accidents are very high and alarming compared to the railway and naval accidents. The organization compiled information from various media and said that the main cause of road accidents is faulty vehicles and reckless speed.
The report added that 927 women and 734 children were among the dead and 2,078 motorcycle accidents killed 2,214 people, accounting for 35.23 percent of the total deaths and 1,523 pedestrians, accounting for 24.23 percent of the total deaths. The driver and assistant of the vehicle were killed and 798 people were killed. The Road Safety Foundation’s observation and analysis states that 2,014 (38.49%) of accidents occurred on national highways, 1,670 (31.09%) on regional roads, 954 (17.76%) on rural roads, and 665 (12.38%) in urban areas, 68 (1.26%) occurred on the road and in other places.
Note that the number of accidents and deaths other than motorcycle accidents in 2019, 2020 and 2021 is almost equal but the total number of accidents and deaths in 2020 and 2021 has increased mainly due to the increasing number of motorcycle accidents and deaths. Compared to 2019, the number of motorcycle accidents has increased by 16.14 percent and the death toll has increased by 54.81 percent in 2020. Compared to 2020, the number of motorcycle accidents has increased by 50.47 percent and the death toll has increased by 51.33 percent in 2021. In 2021, there were 2,078 motorcycle accidents, 2,214 people were killed and 1,309 injured and of the dead, 74.39 percent were between 14 and 45 years of age.
Motorcycles are 30 times more risky than 4 wheelers but due to the lack of improved public transport system and traffic congestion in the country, people are being encouraged to use motorcycles and accidents are on the rise. Motorcycle culture has grown tremendously in the country under the patronage of rogue politics. These motorcyclists are moving recklessly on the roads and highways. The number of pedestrian deaths due to their reckless motorcycle collision is also increasing.
In 2018, there was a massive movement or mass protest from July 29 to August 8, 2018 demanding safe roads and effective road safety across the country. Rajib and Dia, two students of Ramiz Uddin Cantonment College, were killed and 10 others were injured when two speeding buses collided on the airport road in Dhaka on July 29. The protest, which started with the classmates of the two college students killed in the road accident, later spread across the country and the students took to the streets demanding nine points, including the resignation of the shipping minister.
In fact, the road transport system in Bangladesh is very chaotic and prone to accidents, which is clearly visible in the bus services of the capital Dhaka. According to a Research conducted by Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), 53% of these road accidents are due to speeding; 37% due to reckless behaviour of the driver and the remaining 10% due to faulty vehicle and environment. According to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, the number of legal vehicles operating in the country in 2018 was 35 lakh 42 thousand, but the number of valid licensed drivers is only 26 lakh 40 thousand. In other words, about 9 lakh vehicles are driven by unlicensed drivers. In addition, the number of vehicles without fitness in the country is 4 lakh 99 thousand. Due to these reasons, road accidents continue to increase. Rajib, who lost his hand in a bus crash in the last few years, was thrown into the river by a bus helper, Syed Masood Rana, who was injured in a bus crash, two college students who were killed in a bus crash on the airport road and the latest death of a meritorious student of Notre Dame College in Gulistan area.
The ‘Want Safe Roads (Nirapad Sarak Chai)’ movement was born on October 22, 1993, 29 years ago today. Actor Ilyas Kanchan formed this movement after losing his wife Jahanara Kanchan in a road accident. The cabinet meeting on June 5, 2017 decided to observe October 22 as National Safe Roads Day. Since then the day has been celebrated nationally. Every year the people’s demand to make the roads and highways of the country safer through the observance of this day. However, the question is, are the people getting any benefit? How safe we have made the road!
In an interview with BBC Bangla in September 2016, a bus driver blamed the extra sleep of the drivers for most of the road accidents in Bangladesh. He said that the drivers are very tired due to working 24 hours a day. Drivers also get tired due to the hot air of the engine and the noise from outside and around. Moreover, after being on duty all night, they have to drive again the next morning. How can a person drive 24 hours a day? Even if you close your eyes for a second, the situation is very bad! The accident happened in a moment. Trip system culture is responsible for this. As far as the journey is concerned, a driver has to handle it from up and down. Due to such extra work, he fell asleep and had an accident. According to him, if the driver’s duty is fixed at a maximum of 12 hours or less, then the number of accidents will be greatly reduced.
Bangladesh Jatrikalyan Samiti (Passengers Welfare Society) works on road safety and safe roads. The organization has identified nine causes for road accidents, including reckless speeding. Notable among these are reckless speed of vehicles, unfit vehicles and carrying passengers in freight vehicles, disobeying the decision to stop freight vehicles, driving with incompetent drivers and helpers. The organization also made 12 recommendations to reduce accidents. Recommendations include stopping extra fares, training of drivers, banning motorcycles during Eid, maintaining monitoring activities after Eid, ensuring driver-worker pay-bonuses and working hours, and formulating the National Road Safety Council into effective institutions.
The people have long demanded the enactment of a timely road transport law to prevent accidents, the law has been enacted and passed but it is not being implemented properly. There is no precedent for severe punishment for those responsible for the accident. The committee made 111 recommendations to restore order in the road transport sector and control accidents, which were not fully implemented. Even in June 2018, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina herself gave six-point instructions. Instructions are to keep alternate drivers in long-distance vehicles, not to drive a driver for more than five hours, to arrange training for the driver and his assistant, to set up service centers or restrooms on the side of the road at certain distances, to stop irregularly or to obey signals, ensure the use of zebra crossings and fastening of seatbelts for drivers and passengers.The Prime Minister assigned three ministers to ensure that these directives are implemented, but unfortunately, the Prime Minister’s logical instructions to prevent road accidents have not been properly implemented. It seems that the cows in the barn are in the book but not in reality.
Road safety is a very important national issue and related to our valuable lives. However, the issue is not getting much importance from the people concerned, due to which the procession of accidents is not decreasing at all. The demands of the victims, the six-point directive of the Prime Minister, restoration of discipline in the road transport sector and the 111 recommendations of the relevant committee on accident control need to be implemented expeditiously. Road transport laws need to be properly implemented. Every day on the road someone will be killed, the death procession will continue to grow alarmingly and from time to time the student movement will continue to struggle for safe roads. It needs to end. But the question is when will safe roads be ensured for all. Will the safe road remain elusive and will the non-stop death march continue!
(Md. Zillur Rahaman is a Banker and Freelance Columnist, Satish Sarker Road, Gandaria, Dhaka.)
