Country’s most highways and roads have become death traps for the travellers with deadly accidents occurring almost on a regular basis.
The trend in road crash death is becoming alarming across the country as the traffic collision stands as a major source of death.
Fifty two years have already elapsed since the independence of Bangladesh, but roads and highways are still not safe for people.
Country continues witnessing countless people dying on the roads and highways every day due to lack of effective measures to prevent accidents.
People remain scary to hear the news of such tragic accidents every day. Such death is causing an irreparable loss to every family of the victims. Country’s many families were ruined due to road crash. The government took several measures to enhance the vigilance on the roads and highways by utilising the modern information technology to prevent the road accidents. But the road crash still remains as a reason for big worry.
The government and other stakeholders must rethink the issue seriously as there is no alternative to prevent road crash immediately.
Five hundred and seventy-six people died and 1055 injured in 505 road accidents in the country in July, Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity, a passenger welfare platform, said on Saturday.
Besides, forty-eight people were killed in 47 railway accidents while 21 were killed and 15 injured in 16 waterway accidents, it said.
Total 644 people were killed and 1075 others injured in 644 accidents on roads, waterways and railways across the country.
One hundred ninety five people died and 122 others were injured in some 180 motorbike accidents across the country last month which is 35.64% of the total accidents and 31.61% of the total fatalities.
Among those killed in road accidents in July, 119 people were drivers, 77 pedestrians, 17 transport workers, 29 students, seven teachers, three members of law enforcement agencies, one army personnel, one navy personnel, one Border Guard Bangladesh member, one fire service man, 82 women, 42 children and seven activists of different political parties.
Highest 173 people were killed and 271 injured in 157 road accidents in Dhaka division while lowest 38 people were killed and 138 others injured in 23 road crashes in Barishal division.
Among those vehicles involved in the accidents were 18.74 percent buses, 22.84 percent pick-up vans, covered vans and lorries, 6.83 percent private cars, jeeps and microbuses, 5.74 percent CNG-run auto-rickshaws, 25.99 percent motorbikes, 15.32 percent battery-run human haulers and 4.51 percent three-wheeler vehicles.
Of the accidents, 38.61 percent occurred on national highways, 30.69 on regional highways and 24.15 percent on roads.
Besides, 5.34 percent accidents occurred in Dhaka city, 0.39 in Chattogram city and 0.79 percent on rail tracks.
In the wake of alarming trend of fatal road crash, the government, different non-government organisations, and universities have organised various programmes like seminars, symposiums, workshops and discussions to prevent such fatal road accidents.
Besides, the print and electronic media also continued running stories and editorials on how and in what way all could take forward the road safety activities for the sake of the country’s development and progress.
Apart from these, the government has been implementing massive programmes to build a developed road communication infrastructure in the country. It has extended the network of highways to 21,302,08 kilometers, upgraded 453,07 kilometers of national highways to four-lane, constructed or reconstructed 1209 bridges, 5581 culverts, 18 flyovers or overpasses and 27 underpasses.
But reckless driving, poor traffic management, movement of unfit and slow pace vehicles on highways, semi-skilled drivers and lack of their physical and mental fitness, undetermined working hours, lack of capability of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, lack of awareness on traffic rules and extortion in the transport sector are contributing to road accidents in the country.
Therefore, whatever the government does to stop the road crash, the fact remains there is no minimum improvement in the country’s road safety prospects till date.
Experts view that people who travel from one place to another by road or highway feel they are not safe.
The government must strengthen road safety side by side with making massive development of the country’s road transport system, they added.
Besides, all, including transport owners, workers, passengers and pedestrians need to work from their respective position as the government will have to come forward to prevent road accidents, they said.
Experts said the government should continue upgrading all highways to four or more than four lanes in phases, constructing more flyovers and overpasses, making traffic signs and road markings, constructing restrooms beside highways, imparting training to drivers in this regard. Besides, leaflets, posters and stickers will have to be distributed to make aware the transport owners, drivers, passengers and pedestrians, they added.
The government and owners of transport have to take effective steps for the skill development of drivers, fixing their wages and working hours, enhancing BRTA’s capacity, constructing separate roads for slow pace vehicles, and dividers on roads to reduce the number of accidents.
Besides, developing the traffic system, stopping extortion of money and corruption in the transport sector, reducing pressure on roads by improving the services on railways and waterways, and enforcement of the Road Safety Act, 2018 are a must to reduce the number of road accidents.
Therefore, the government and other stakeholders will have to rethink the issue seriously as there is no alternative to prevent road crash as early as possible, experts noted.
