Editorial
The dangers of reckless driving
Legal loopholes to punish drivers must be filled in
No fewer than 3,300 people have on average died in road accidents in Bangladesh in the last ten years. Only the other day, reckless driving on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway claimed the life a well-known sportsman of the country. And lawmaker Tarana Halim only confirms what we have always known, which is that drivers who cause all these accidents on the roads and highways always manage to go free and none among them sees the law taking its natural course. It all makes clear to us, yet once more, just how much a menace accidents have become in the country. Worse, it also shows a clear inability or unwillingness or both on the part of the authorities to make sure that the roads are kept free of reckless driving. The consequences are now out there for everyone to see. The safety of citizens, be they pedestrians or commuters, cannot be guaranteed because those responsible for ensuring a plying of good, safe vehicles with good drivers at the wheels will not do their job.
What is happening here is the obvious advantage reckless and bad drivers have been taking of the many legal loopholes regarding the offences they commit and the penalties they are supposed to face. Add to that the lax manner in which the traffic police, hardly known for efficiency and devotion to duty, have tried applying the rules of the road against those who have kept flouting regulations. On top of everything, there is the persistent presence of rundown, dilapidated vehicles on the roads which pose constant risks to citizens. The problem does not end there, for there is the question of not only bad drivers who may have come by their licences in questionable manner but also of those individuals, generally known as helpers on the buses, who often are seen driving the vehicles themselves. In the past few years, we have noticed how a combination of these horrors have resulted in the death of a very large number of people on the roads, with little or no action aimed at nabbing guilty drivers.
It is now time for action. And action must begin at the level of the traffic authorities. In the first place, a focused investigation must be carried out to detect the fake licences many of these bad drivers carry. In the second, a proper, comprehensive system must be in place to ensure that an intending driver meets all the requirements before he can be given a licence. Most importantly, the time is here for a re-evaluation and reconsideration of existing laws regarding accidents. Under Section 304 (B) of the Penal Code, causing the death of an individual through reckless driving is a bailable offence. This allows many offending drivers to make a run for safety once they are bailed. At the same time, provisions must be there for vehicle owners to satisfy the authorities that their vehicles are in good condition and that the drivers they employ know the rules of the road.
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