Over 600,000 illegal vehicles plying on the roads

Over 600,000 vehicles, which have no fitness certificates, have been plying illegally on the road across the country, resulting in accidents and deaths.

According to Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), there are around 6 million vehicles in the country.

Of these vehicles, around 4.4 million are motorcycles which don't need fitness certificates.

Of the remaining 1.6 million vehicles, around 618,000 vehicles have no fitness certificates.

Although these vehicles need mandatory fitness certificates, they are plying illegally on the road.

As per government and non-government estimation, deaths in road accidents are increasing every year.

According to BRTA, a total of 4138 people died in road accidents in 2019, which increases to 5024 in 2023.

Private organisation Road Safety Foundation records 5211 deaths in 2019 and 6524 in 2023.

After two big road accidents occurred on Tuesday and Wednesday, the issue of disorder on the road came up for discussion anew.

Fourteen people died on Wednesday as a cement-laden truck from Khulna rammed three easybikes, a private car and a small truck waiting in a queue at the toll plaza of Gabkhan bridge in Jhalakathi.  

On Tuesday, 15 people died as a bus collided with a truck which was carrying passengers. The bus had no route permit and updated fitness certificate. Those who died were passengers of the truck. As per the law, trucks cannot carry passengers.

Since 2012, the road transport and bridges ministry has spent Tk 1620 billion in 11 years. Although roads have been extended, new bridges have been built and tunnels have been constructed, the road accidents are not decreasing, rather deaths are increasing.

Experts said a huge amount of money has been spent for the development of road infrastructure, but fitness of vehicles and licences of drivers cannot be ensured while reckless driving and illegal movement of vehicles cannot be stopped.

As a result, accidents cannot be reduced, they noted.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, director at Accident Research Institute of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), professor Shamsul Hoque said conditions for frequent road accidents and casualties exist on the road. The government has no specific goals and programmes to reduce accidents and deaths, he added.

When asked about the matter, road transport and bridges ministry secretary ABM Amin Ullah Nuri said they are trying their level best to restore discipline on the roads.

Deaths in road accidents are tainting the image of the government.
Mobile courts are being operated across the country since ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr and instructions have been given to continue it, Nuri added.

After deaths of students in road accidents in 2018, students took to the streets demanding safe roads.

Some of the policymakers said the students opened their eyes. Still nothing has changed. In the face of movement, the government hurriedly enacted the road transport act. The act still is undergoing changes. Initiative has been taken to relax provisions for punishment.

Top forum the National Road Safety Council (NRSC) formulates policy and implements it to ensure safe roads. Road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader is the president of the forum. NRCS comprises officials of different government agencies, representatives of transport workers, and owners' associations, experts and representatives of the civil society. This forum is supposed to sit every six months and to review the implementation of previous decisions and to formulate new policy. But most of the decisions taken by this council  are not implemented.

NRSC banned the locally made improvised vehicles nasimon, karimon, three-wheelers, auto rickshaws, auto-tempo and all non-motorised vehicles on 22 national roads from 1 August 2015. BRTA, district administration, Bangladesh Police and the Highway Police were given responsibility for implementation. But the decision is not implemented.

Analysing five years' reports of police Road Safety Foundation and Jatri Kalyan Samity, motorcycles, nasimon, korimon and three-wheeler vehicles are mostly meeting with accidents and causing deaths.

The United Nations declared safe roads between 2011 and 2020 in a bid to reduce road accidents by half. Bangladesh ratified this. But couldn't reduce accidents and deaths. Later the United Nations set a goal to reduce deaths and injuries from accidents by half by 2030. But Bangladesh still could not make any progress.

Since 2008, the road transport ministry made a three-year strategic plan to reduce casualties by half. Meanwhile, strategic plans for 2008-2010, 2011-2013, 2014-2016 and 2017-2020, have been made. But the government has not assessed the successes of these plans. As a result, these strategic plans remain in paper.

The last strategic plan was made for 2021-2024. Under the plan, initiatives by various government departments and agencies have been mentioned. Police, the BRTA and the health ministry have more responsibility.

The government, however, has taken various steps. In 2017, prime minister Sheikh Hasina gave directives to construct rest houses for drivers of long routes. The Roads and Highways Department took projects to construct rest houses at Cumilla, Habiganj, Sirajganj and Magura.

In 2023, a project with an estimated cost of Tk 49.88 billion has been taken to reduce the road accidents. It is estimated that deaths in accidents will be reduced by 30m per cent if this project is implemented. The implementation of the project started in June last year.

Different government agencies including the Roads and Highways Department will implement it.

Two highways-Gazipur to Elenga and Natore to Chapainawabganj have been selected for the project.

According to a study published in 2017 by the Roads and Highways Department, if an able person dies in a road accident, it causes an economic loss of over Tk 2.4 million.  

Former director at Accident Research Institute of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), professor Md Hadiuzzaman made a report on annual loss in road accidents.

According to him, an estimated loss worth Tk 380.44 billion was incurred for casualties in road accidents in 2021 as per the government estimation.

Hadiuzzaman said the majority of the casualties were able persons. The victims' families as well as the state are being affected.

Only constructing roads will not yield any good results keeping anarchy on the road, he noted.

*This report, originally published in Prothom Alo print and online editions, has been rewritten in English by Rabiul Islam