Editorial
One-off measures cannot reduce road accidents
Formulate and implement comprehensive plan
The parliamentary standing committee on communication ministry has recently made a specific recommendation to change the current law to enhance the scope of punishments for the guilty drivers, as a way of reducing road fatalities But we feel that there is more to mere punishing the drivers for ensuring that the roads become less hazardous, although it is primarily due to drivers' recklessness and lack of skill that account for the majority of accidents.
Hazardous highways have become a matter of major concern for us. And this space has been used many times to highlight the danger that commuters on the city roads and national highways are faced with everyday. And given that the two-year road safety action plan is coming to an end by the year end, it would not be wrong to suggest that there is no plan at all and very little action worth the name in this regard.
Road safety record in Bangladesh is indeed very dismal. If we go by the report presented to the said committee recently by the BRTA, 6723 people have been killed in nearly 8000 road accidents between 2008 and 2009, and similar number have sustained injuries. The figure has doubled from that of 2004. The fatality rate in Bangladesh is 50 percent higher than the West as a serialized report in The Daily Star in 2006 had revealed. We suggest that the actual figure may be higher since many accidents don't get reported at all. And the loss in terms of money is staggering. Just to put the matter in perspective the loss in terms of lives and money is more than that exacted by natural disasters.
That being the case, we feel that the directive of the standing committee in respect of punishment to errant drivers only partly addresses the problem. In fact the said BRTA report has brought out all the areas of concern, for example drivers and vehicles and roads and pedestrians, and all of these must be addressed in a composite and comprehensive manner.
And the roles of the different government agencies can not be overemphasized where road safety is concerned. For example a major area of concern identified in the report ----incompetent drivers and unfit vehicles, exist because of the omission and commission of the road transport authority itself, and also because of the unholy nexus between the police and the drivers / bus owners. We would like to ask why and how does an unfit vehicle get on the road or for that matter an unqualified driver gets to hold the steering of a passenger bus or a truck without having a valid driver's license?
We feel that the government should come out with concrete steps by taking into consideration the suggestions of the road safety committee, and more importantly, work out a course of action to implement the plan on an urgent basis.
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