Authorities’ continued lack of concern for road safety is unacceptable

Hardly a day passes without the painful news of deaths in road accidents across the country. It is becoming the greatest threat to human lives. Thousands of lives are being lost on the roads and it is increasing sharply every year. It destroys many families forever. It seems that we are helpless to do anything to redress this horrendous situation. It also makes us wonder if there is really any authority to look into this.
Nowadays, road accidents have become a way of life in our country, simply unavoidable no matter how cautious a person may be. According to statistics of the Road Safety Foundation (RSF), at least 517 people were killed and 3,280 others injured in road accidents in a single month of September this year. On the other hand, the Accident Research Institute (ARI) of BUET said on an average, 20 people are dying every day in the country. Reckless driving, unfit vehicles, overloading and dilapidated road conditions have been identified as the main reasons behind the road crashes.
However, the ARI stated that motorbikes have become the cause of the higher number of road accidents. Whereas the SRF said 675 motorbike accidents resulted in 509 injuries and 46 fatalities, 903 bus accidents resulted in 893 injuries and 67 fatalities, and 1,011 car accidents resulted in 909 injuries and 275 fatalities. In 2021, 2,214 people were killed in 2,078 motorcycle accidents in the country.
Bangladesh’s dreams of middle-income status and progress are not only under threat due to a culture that has continuously failed to value the lives of its citizens. Such a reality is also utterly incompatible with any idea of progress and turns our future middle-income status into nothing more than another brick on a road paved mostly with death and destruction. More importantly, it is also essential for transport owners to be held accountable when road crashes occur, not just drivers. We need a complete overhaul of this sector.
We, therefore, ask the authorities concerned to speed up the implementation of the Road Transport Act 2018. Why the authorities still dilly-dally over implementation of the Act? A promise that they had made more than five years ago, after the nation saw a historic movement in the student-led protests demanding road safety. But the questions remain: Will the necessary steps ever be taken? And, if taken so, when?