Editorial
Ensuring safety on roads
The lessons we all need to learn
A roundtable organised by this newspaper on Tuesday on deaths occurring on the roads may not have revealed anything spectacular, but it certainly threw fresh light on a condition which calls for firmer handling. Perhaps Obaidul Quader, minister for communications and railway, summed it up only too well. In his view, the transport system is so flawed that one quite does not know where to begin overhauling it. Besides, there is the matter of funds where making roads and highways safe is concerned. There are more than 200 accident prone spots all over the country. With the authorities currently trying to make 30 of those spots safe for commuters and vehicles, one can only make a guess about the future of the remaining spots.
That said, it is today imperative that strict measures be taken not only to make roads, in the material sense of the meaning, safe for all but also for drivers of various vehicles to understand that they need to follow all road-related rules. With reports coming in every day from all over the country of deaths on the roads under speeding vehicles, serious steps to handle the situation are in order. And one of those steps cannot but be a set of laws that will hand down exemplary punishment to drivers who operate their vehicles recklessly. There are countries where individuals wishing to be drivers of public transport vehicles must have basic education followed by necessary training on the use of roads. That system can be replicated here. Again, the role of traffic policemen is important. Their need for discipline among themselves and strictness toward bad drivers is essential if we mean to have safe roads.
An important component of any disciplined traffic plan must be a full, proper understanding of the rules of the road by citizens. Jaywalking yet remains an irritant, despite the foot overbridges that are there. Besides, pedestrians must also be told that where there are zebra crossings, they must make use of them. That again means that vehicle drivers must be told firmly that they cannot come to a stop on such zebra crossings.
If we cannot ensure safety on the roads, we cannot be sure that we will fare in other areas any better.
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