Badrul Ahsan :
Sudden rise in road accidents across the country in recent days has frightened the peace loving people.
At least 43 people were killed and more than 239 injured in 31 road accidents across the country in the last one week, including a son of a minister.
According to data available with the Police Headquarters, about 1,997 road accidents occurred across the country in the year 2015, causing death to 2,532 people and injuries to 1,943.
Besides, a recent study conducted by the Accident Research Centre (ARC) of BUET disclosed that road accidents claimed on average 12,000 lives annually and about 35,000 injuries.
According to a World Bank (WB) statistics, annual fatality rate from road accidents in Bangladesh is found to be 85.6 per 10,000 vehicles. “Hence, the roads in Bangladesh have become deadly!, the report said.
Experts and road safety activists have blamed reckless driving, speed and overloaded vehicles, and absence of exemplary punishment for gross violation of traffic laws as some of the main reasons behind the increasing road accidents.
They have, therefore, asked the government to keep a tight rein on vehicle’s speed to bring discipline to roads.
Actor Ilias Kanchon, of the ‘Nirapad Sarak Chai’ movement said, all the cities are now bus stations as drivers stop anywhere. Even the passengers, in many cases, are forced to get down from the running buses.
“Besides, highways have also become death trap because of reckless driving, and apathy of highway police to bring the killers to justice,” he said.
“None cares about it. It’s nothing but anarchy in the transport sector. We need someone at the policy-making level to realise the gravity of the issue and do the needful on a priority basis,” he further said.
He said, people claim that drivers’ reckless driving is responsible for road mishaps, but increased awareness of pedestrians and passengers is also essential. While riding vehicles, commuters should exert pressure on drivers to drive cautiously, he said.
When contacted, urban planning expert Architect Mobasser Hossain said strict implementation of the country’s existing traffic laws is required in this connection.
The BUET Accident Research Institute (ARI) has estimated that the national loss is about Taka 80-90 billion per year because of road accidents. Almost 30 per cent of the national healthcare budget is used for road crash victims affecting our economy by about two per cent of the country’s GDP.
Meanwhile, talking about the issue, a high official of Highway Police Department preferring anonymity, admitted the fact of growing road accidents across the country, saying that the situation cannot improve even after an increased monitoring.
“We’re trying our best to bring discipline on roads amid many limitations. We cannot do it alone. Transport owners, drivers, passengers and pedestrians should come up with cooperation in this regard,” he added.
“Nearly 300 drivers were fined on charge of reckless driving and for violation of other traffic rules across the country in the last one week.
“We will continue such drives until the situation come under control. At the same time we will urge all the country men to be alert about their duties also,” he said.
