Passenger Welfare Society [Jatri Kalyan Samity], an organization that works for passenger’s welfare, has recommended reformation of Eid vacation system for the workers of industrial sectors with a view to reducing road accidents and volume of traffic on the highways.
Apart from suggesting ‘awareness programme’ for the passengers, the organization also recommended the owners to check the condition of their vehicles every day before the drivers start journey.
Against the backdrop of record number accidents during Eid-ul Azha vacation this year, secretary general of the organization Md Mozammel Haque Chowdhury made the above recommendations at a press conference held at Jatiya Press Club in the city on Wednesday.
The organization’s accident monitoring cell also placed a report saying that about 265 people were killed and 1153 received injuries in 210 road accidents within a span of only 12 days before and after Eid-ul Azha vacation starting from September 7.
Most of the accidents occurred on the highways while the home- goers either going or returning on the eve of festival. The report said that passengers’ suffering along with road accidents had increased tremendously this year during the vacation of Eid-ul Azha in comparison with recently passed Eid-ul Fitr where journey was relatively better.
Ten other persons died and 30 were injured in eight riverine accidents during the aforesaid period. At the same time, seven persons were killed and 50 others injured in rail accidents, it said. Of the road accidents, the number of head-on-collision was 72 which claimed lives of 112 people with injuring 557 others. Besides, 29 persons died and 20 others received injuries being run over by buses. Apart from it, eight people were killed and four others injured being crushed under the wheels of running trucks. Moreover, 82 people died and 268 got hurt in accidents occurred due to various reasons.
To tackle such situation, the organization has suggested some other recommendations too. These are: separate lanes on highways for fast and slow moving vehicles, ensure tough punishment for those who are responsible for accidents, regularization of road safety audit, putting road divider on the highways, provide training to drivers, arrangement of adequate public transport to reduce overloading, inclusion of ‘road use law’ in the text book, modernization of issuing driving license, initiative to stop plying of Nasiman – Kariman, prevent plying of unfit vehicles, digitalization of vehicle fitness system, formation of separate unit in police force to investigate road accident case, and The report, however, identified “20 reasons” for the increased road accidents. These are: driving vehicles in too much speed, risky overtaking, lack of road divider, violation of traffic rules, drivers’ aggressive attitude, unskilled drivers without training, faulty roads, defective vehicles, unawareness of passengers, carrying surplus passengers and goods overloading, plying of illegal, sub-standard vehicles without fitness and registration. Besides, running of private car, jeep and city service bus on the highways, people’s inadequate knowledge about use of road, talking through mobile phones while driving vehicles, crossing road pressing mobile phone on the ear, reckless motor cycle driving of teen agers, haat-bazzar besides highways and jaywalking due to occupying of footpath – were also mentioned as other reasons for road accidents.
Especially, moving of fast driven bus-car-microbus in chorus with slow moving cattle -laden trucks, Nasiman – Kariman, votvoti, easy-bike, paddle-run-rickshaw on the highways – has been identified as another big reason for accidents in its report.
On Monday, the Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader admitted the responsibility for the huge road fatalities during the Eid-ul Azha vacation, saying that his main challenge was to bring back discipline on highways and transport sector, but his efforts went futile.
“I can’t avoid my responsibility where people are being killed like birds in road accidents. I’ll have to take the responsibility…. I can’t say I’m successful in restoring discipline on highways and transport sector,” the Minister said at meet-the-press programme organised by Dhaka Reporters Unity [DRU] in the city.
