Deaths in crashes rising as roads remain unsafe

As of September this year, both the number of road crashes and fatalities has seen a year-on-year increase of more than 10 percent, according to government data.
Experts attributed this worsening situation to the anarchy and indiscipline that developed in the road transport sector during the rule of the previous Awami League government.
Influential leaders of transport associations, in collision with police and political leaders, created a vicious circle to get benefit from it, experts said.
After the political changeover in August, a big opportunity arose to address the situation, but the interim government is yet to make any major move, they said.
Besides, several initiatives taken by the previous government in this regard remained unimplemented.
Against this backdrop, the country is set to observe the National Road Safety Day today with the slogan “Chhatra Janatar Ongikar, Nirapad Sarak Hok Sobar” (Safe Road for All is the Pledge of the Students and the People).

RISE IN CRASHES, DEATHS

According to Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), at least 4,153 people lost their lives in 4,494 road crashes nationwide between January and September this year.
In comparison, those figures were 4,016 and 3,727 in the first nine months of last year, meaning road crashes and fatalities saw 10.64 percent and 10.26 percent rise respectively.
However, Road Safety Foundation, a non-government organisation, put the fatalities at 5,598 in 5,485 road crashes in the first nine months of this year.
Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity recorded 4,745 deaths in 4,620 road crashes during the same period.
Transport expert Prof Shamsul Hoque said the previous government invested heavily in the transport sector, but these investments had no direct impact on road safety.
Asked about the reasons, he said a vicious circle comprising transport leaders, police and politicians had been behind the anarchy and indiscipline in the transport sector, and it ultimately led to the rise in road crashes and fatalities.
He said the nexus allowed a huge number of illegal and sub-standard vehicles, including battery-run three-wheelers, to operate on roads. It also allowed unlicensed and unskilled drivers to operate vehicles, seriously compromising road safety.
Besides, several government measures helped the number of motorcycles grow manifold, which has contributed to the rise in road crashes and deaths, said Shamsul, also the director of Buet’s Accident Research Institute.
“Breaking out of the vicious circle that developed during the rule of the previous Awami League government is very difficult without a strong political commitment,” he told The Daily Star yesterday.
He said the interim government has a big opportunity to bring discipline in the transport sector as most of the influential transport sector leaders are on the run and the police administration has gone through a major change.
But the authorities seem to be missing this golden opportunity as the advisers are overload with work, he said.
Ilias Kanchan, chairman of Nirapad Sarak Chai, said the interim government has many things to do to ensure safe road.
“We prepared many plans to ensure road safety, but the previous government was not sincere about it. We hope the interim government will be sincere,” he told The Daily Star yesterday.
He said a new road safety act has to be enacted to ensure road safety as the existing Road Transport Act is now enough.
INITIATIVES FALTERED
The previous AL government had taken several initiatives to improve road safety and reduce the numbers of road crashes and fatalities. But most of those remained unimplemented.
The government in May last year set the age limit for commercial vehicles to curb road crashes and pollution. It set the commercial life for buses at 20 years and for trucks at 25 years.
But the government backtracked on the decision amid pressure from the transport associations and put the decision on hold in August last year.
The government had prepared a draft guideline to bring the illegal three-wheelers under regulation but the draft is yet to be finalised.
In May last year, the government set the speed limits for vehicles as overspeeding is considered as a major reason for road crashes. But the guideline is not followed.
WHAT ROAD ADVISOR SAYS
Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, adviser to the road transport and bridges ministry, yesterday said they would take a “whole new approach” to reducing road crashes and deaths.
He said road crashes and deaths used to be dealt with a “statistical approach” previously, but the incumbent government will take a “human approach” to deal with the matter.
The adviser said he will sit with Syeda Rizwana Hasan, adviser to the environment, forest and climate change ministry, on Thursday to decide on how the outdated vehicles would be withdrawn from the streets.