We are shocked at yet another horrific road accident that left 17 people killed in a collision between a microbus and a passenger bus. Police said there were four children and five women of four families among the 11 people who were burnt to death. It happened when a bus collided with the microbus coming from the opposite direction. The microbus then hit a human haulier parked by the road. According to a report, the microbus involved in the crash near Katakhali Police Station went up in flames after a loud bang and kept burning for almost 10 minutes until the firefighters arrived.
Witnesses said that men, women and children were burnt alive. Police prohibited locals from dousing the flame that burnt 11 of a family inside the microbus. After 10 minutes of burning, when firefighters arrived, there was nobody alive inside the microbus. Firefighters rescued eight people from near the charred vehicle, three of them had burn injuries.
There has been no respite in road accidents despite a huge promise made by the government and other stakeholders after the 2018 unprecedented student protests. Road Safety Foundation found that in January 2021 alone, at least 484 were killed and 673 injured in 427 road accidents across the country. The highest proportion of these accidents (35.83 percent) occurred on highways, and the foundation cited unfit vehicles, reckless driving, unskilled drivers, and ignoring traffic rules as the major reasons behind such accidents.
Unfortunately news of road accidents such as these no longer shock any one of us. What is more frustrating is that the passage of the Road Transport Act 2018, the PM’s directives given in 2018 for limiting the driving-time of the drivers on long-routes, nothing seems to have had any effect to reduce road crashes. Transport experts and organisations researching on over speeding have identified the main reasons behind road accidents. It is not clear why the amended Road Transport Act providing for more stringent punishments is not being enforced and why initiatives are not taken to make sure all drivers have valid licenses, fixed salaries and working hours.
