Political commitment essential to halt deaths on road
Road accidents have become an epidemic for Bangladesh at the moment. Anarchy on the roads is so rampant that most people feel this way. This was quite evident from the report revealing the data on road crashes in 2021. As many as 6,284 people died in separate road accidents in 2021 as per the report of Road Safety Foundation.
The death rate has rose by 17 per cent while the rate of accidents increased by 13 per cent from the previous year. Notably, public transports were closed for 85 days last year in several phases due to Covid pandemic. The increasing number of road accidents despite closure of transport shows the dreadful condition of our road transport system.
Experts termed these deaths due to road crashes as murders. They also believe the actual number of accidents is four to five times more than that published in different media. No government agency keeps any record of the accidents. It can be construed that the government policymakers are not concerned about road accidents at all. The overall situation did not improve even after the student movement in demand of safe roads.
Experts claim, deaths on roads could not be stopped due to the government’s lack of management and liability. They also raise questions on the government’s commitment to rein in the corruption, extortion and anarchy in the sector. The government on the other hand has pointed its finger towards the transport owners over and over. The transport owners come under the shelter of every government of every political party. This collusion hinders implementing road safety acts or taking expert opinion into consideration.
Despite enacting the Road Transport Act in 2018, it did not bring any change in the sector. The act in fact was not implemented properly at all. The government seems to be not interested in implementing the very law it enacted.
The government has not heeded any recommendation of experts to create skilled drivers, fix drivers' wages and working hours, increase BRTA capacity and to build service roads for high speed vehicles on highways. It is said that once the extortion of the owners and workers' association and the police in public transport is stopped, road discipline will be restored to a great extent. But no active measures have been taken yet. It seems the extortion is going on with the tacit support of the government.
Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Accident Research Institute (ARI) director Hadiuzzaman said the problem of road accidents is political. It is not possible to solve this problem technically. The road transport sector is so chaotic that it is very difficult to make the road safe. Those who are the beneficiaries of the chaos on the road are the ones who are sitting in the various policy making committees. It is not possible to restore order on the road without the political commitment of the government.
The government must admit its liability to resolve the disorder in road transport sector. Above all, it needs commitment. It is in no way possible by simply putting the blame on the people. There is no alternative to taking the recommendations of the experts into account and implementing the law properly. It is the government that has to come forward to avert this epidemic in the road transport sector.