Reckless driving: When will the authorities act?

As many as 23 people were killed in road accidents between Friday and Saturday evenings, according to Prothom Alo and other media reports. These accidents are caused by reckless driving. The deadliest of the accidents was the death of six people when a bus hit a motorcycle, a human hauler and a rickshaw van in quick succession.

Media reports say that driver was sitting in the driving seat for 17 hours at a stretch. Asadul Huq, who was driving a bus of Royal Paribahan, started from Chuadanga at 930am and reached Dhaka at 8:30pm. After two hours, he started for Chuadanga.

Most of our highways do not have a divider and the drivers have to be extra cautious while driving. But they often do not care about the rules and such accidents take place. The lack of rest is also another cause.

Two days before this accident, mountaineer Rshma Nahar was killed when a vehicle hit her bicycle.

We seem to find no way to contain these road accidents. Students all over the country took to the streets two years back when two students were killed in a road accident on Airport Road in Dhaka. The authorities had to amend the Road Transport Act amid protests then. Prime minister Sheikh Hasina had also issued a five-point directive, which included mandatory rest for the drivers after every five hours and keeping a back-up driver in the vehicle as well. She also suggested better training for the drivers and their attendants, setting up rest rooms beside the highways and adhering to the traffic rules.

But nobody cares. Years after years a quarter in the guise of trade union has kept the transport sector a hostage. If they cannot be controlled, the PM's directives won't be implemented and people won't adhere to the Road Transport Act either.

How many more people need to die on the road for the the authorities to act?