Md Joynal Abedin Khan :
Thousands of unfit vehicles and reckless driving are blamed for most of the road accidents that took lives of few hundred people, including Bangladesh University of Professional’s (BUP) student Abrar Ahmed Chowdhuiry in city in this month.
The bad culture of defying traffic rules, extortion from vehicles by stopping on roads, long time steering by the drivers, roads’ repairing and construction works without arranging temporary by-pass or necessary signals, are accounted for major causes of road crashes, experts, cops and transport leaders said.
At least 4,439 people were killed in 3,103 accidents last year, and faulty vehicles were one of the main reasons, reports Nirapad Sarak Chai, a road safety campaign.
As of December last year, about 38 lakh vehicles were registered with the BRTA. Of them, 24.5 lakh are motorcycles that do not require annual fitness certificates.
Of the rest, some 6.5 lakh vehicles obtain fitness certificates every year on average, a BRTA official said.
Under the Motor Vehicle Ordinance 1983, vehicles must undergo mandatory fitness checks every year.
Last year, the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) revoked registrations of 56,410 vehicles, including 3,740 belonging to different ministries and government agencies, for not renewing their fitness certificates for more than a decade.
BRTA also asked the owners of these vehicles — 14,982 of them buses and trucks — to renew their fitness certificates by May 31. Otherwise, their registrations will be cancelled.
“In addition to cancelling their registrations, we will file cases against each vehicle owner to realise the dues [renew fees, taxes etc],” said BRTA Director (operations) Sitanghsu Shekhar Biswas.
Passenger Welfare Association of Bangladesh published a report that capital’s 87 per cent public buses and minibuses are defying traffic rules.
Professor Moazzem Hossain, former Director of Accident Research Institute (ARI) of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), said the operation of such a huge number of unfit vehicles indicates that the authority’s enforcement system was non-functional.
“Unfit vehicles increase the risks of accidents and, so, these vehicles definitely make our roads riskier,” Professor Moazzem said.
National Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh Chairman Kazi Reazul Hoque said that anarchy ruled the road sector due to movement of unfit vehicles, untrained drivers’ reckless driving and lack of accountability to law.
Dr Zobair, who has been researching the factors behind road accidents for last 13 years, said, if an accident occurs for unskilled drivers, the authorities concerned should first ask the driver about the reasons behind accident.
He also suggested the government to bring the public transportation system under an umbrella system where drivers and transport workers will be salaried employees.
Kanta Roy, a driver of a four-wheeler human hauler says that some unskilled drivers are also responsible for accidents.
He said some drivers are drunkard while some are normal. Although normal drivers drive their vehicles well, the drunkard cannot do so, he said.
Thousands of unfit vehicles and reckless driving are blamed for most of the road accidents that took lives of few hundred people, including Bangladesh University of Professional’s (BUP) student Abrar Ahmed Chowdhuiry in city in this month.
The bad culture of defying traffic rules, extortion from vehicles by stopping on roads, long time steering by the drivers, roads’ repairing and construction works without arranging temporary by-pass or necessary signals, are accounted for major causes of road crashes, experts, cops and transport leaders said.
At least 4,439 people were killed in 3,103 accidents last year, and faulty vehicles were one of the main reasons, reports Nirapad Sarak Chai, a road safety campaign.
As of December last year, about 38 lakh vehicles were registered with the BRTA. Of them, 24.5 lakh are motorcycles that do not require annual fitness certificates.
Of the rest, some 6.5 lakh vehicles obtain fitness certificates every year on average, a BRTA official said.
Under the Motor Vehicle Ordinance 1983, vehicles must undergo mandatory fitness checks every year.
Last year, the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) revoked registrations of 56,410 vehicles, including 3,740 belonging to different ministries and government agencies, for not renewing their fitness certificates for more than a decade.
BRTA also asked the owners of these vehicles — 14,982 of them buses and trucks — to renew their fitness certificates by May 31. Otherwise, their registrations will be cancelled.
“In addition to cancelling their registrations, we will file cases against each vehicle owner to realise the dues [renew fees, taxes etc],” said BRTA Director (operations) Sitanghsu Shekhar Biswas.
Passenger Welfare Association of Bangladesh published a report that capital’s 87 per cent public buses and minibuses are defying traffic rules.
Professor Moazzem Hossain, former Director of Accident Research Institute (ARI) of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), said the operation of such a huge number of unfit vehicles indicates that the authority’s enforcement system was non-functional.
“Unfit vehicles increase the risks of accidents and, so, these vehicles definitely make our roads riskier,” Professor Moazzem said.
National Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh Chairman Kazi Reazul Hoque said that anarchy ruled the road sector due to movement of unfit vehicles, untrained drivers’ reckless driving and lack of accountability to law.
Dr Zobair, who has been researching the factors behind road accidents for last 13 years, said, if an accident occurs for unskilled drivers, the authorities concerned should first ask the driver about the reasons behind accident.
He also suggested the government to bring the public transportation system under an umbrella system where drivers and transport workers will be salaried employees.
Kanta Roy, a driver of a four-wheeler human hauler says that some unskilled drivers are also responsible for accidents.
He said some drivers are drunkard while some are normal. Although normal drivers drive their vehicles well, the drunkard cannot do so, he said.
