‘Road accidents in Bangladesh are preventable’

Road crashes in Bangladesh are not mere accidents or acts of fate but preventable tragedies caused due to institutional mismanagement, unfit vehicles, weak enforcement and lack of coordination among agencies, said experts yesterday.

They made the remarks at a daylong training workshop titled “Integrated Road Safety Law (Draft): Role and Partnership of Media”, jointly organised by the Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication and the Global Health Advocacy Incubator at the YWCA training centre in Dhaka.

The workshop was attended by 20 senior journalists from print, television, online media, and news agencies.

Bangladesh continues to struggle because of weak institutional coordination and separate data systems among police, BRTA, and DGHS, resulting in conflicting figures on deaths and injuries.

Dr Muhammad Shariful Alam Country coordinator, GHAI

Speakers called for strengthening the country’s road safety governance to meet Sustainable Development Goal 3.6, which calls for reducing road traffic deaths and injuries, and SDG 11.2, which emphasises safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, especially women, children, persons with disabilities and the elderly.

BRAC Road Safety Programme representative M Khalid Mahmood discussed the draft road safety law and its safe-system approach, including provisions on road network planning, right of way, adequate lighting, vehicle monitoring, speed control, passenger insurance, hospital cost coverage, crash investigation, research and data management.

Dr Muhammad Shariful Alam, country coordinator of GHAI, said countries such as Sweden and Australia have reduced road fatalities through Vision Zero-type policies.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh continues to struggle because of weak institutional coordination and separate data systems among police, the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority and the Directorate General of Health Services, resulting in conflicting figures published on road deaths and injuries, he added.

Shariful urged journalists to pursue evidence-based and investigative reporting to push the government to modernise infrastructure, remove unfit vehicles from roads and develop a unified road crash data system.

Dr Sharif Mahmud, programme manager of the Health and Welfare Programme, stressed public awareness and sustained media advocacy to move the draft law forward and ensure its effective implementation.

Journalists expressed concern over road safety risks during the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha holidays, especially due to makeshift cattle markets along highways and unrestricted motorcycle movement.

Speakers also said civil society and media networks should provide policy support and practical recommendations to help prevent suffering and deaths during holiday travel.

Participants welcomed the draft law’s provision for establishing an independent Road Safety Authority, saying its effective implementation could help reduce deaths on the country’s roads.

The workshop ended with a consensus to form an informal cross-beat network of journalists covering communication, health and crime to support data sharing and continuous media follow-up on road safety policies.