Little done to improve road safety
ANARCHY and mismanagement in road transportation across the country have increased manifold.
There is no stopping of accidents and casualties on the roads and highways.
According to a newspaper report yesterday, Dhaka is currently the most dangerous city for pedestrians, with one-fourth of the annual road accident-related fatalities occurring among pedestrians.
Over the past three years, both the number of accidents and deaths in Dhaka has seen a significant and alarming increase, with pedestrians being the primary victims.
Truly, the people here have the simple wish that their loved ones return home safely at the end of the day.
But the roads are becoming more dangerous for that simple matter.
The government gave various assurances four years ago after the students agitated in demand for safe roads.
Despite that, discipline has not been restored on the road. Dhaka’s road infrastructure is already insufficient to meet the growing demands.
The availability of walkways or footpaths falls far short of what is needed. The total length of roads in Dhaka North and South City is just a little over 2,000 kilometres, whereas there are only about 600 km of footpaths.
Furthermore, many of the existing sidewalks have been occupied by vendors, construction materials and car parking.
In response to this issue, ‘National Safe Road Day’ was commemorated nationwide yesterday (22 October).
Since 2017, the day has aimed to raise awareness about road safety through various events.
This year’s theme for the day is ‘Let us follow the law on the road and build a smart Bangladesh.’
Experts have pointed out that Dhaka’s roads are far from being pedestrian-friendly.
Additionally, the absence of a modern signaling system on the roads forces pedestrians to take risks when crossing intersections, resulting in a high rate of pedestrian fatalities in traffic accidents in Dhaka.
Over the past two decades, several projects aimed at implementing modern traffic signals in Dhaka have been executed, with approximately Tk 1.9 billion.
Unfortunately, most of the signal lamps have become non-functional due to a lack of maintenance.
According to the Road Safety Foundation, 183 people lost their lives in accidents in Dhaka city during the nine-month period from January to September of this year.
The highest number of fatalities, 29 in total, occurred in July. Over the past three years, 26 per cent of the individuals killed in road accidents were pedestrians. Dhaka stands out with the highest number of pedestrian fatalities.
It is time that the government should acknowledge its failure in streamlining the sector, stop making false promises, and ensure road safety for the public.
Abandoning the alleged bias towards the transport owners and workers associations, it must act with the interest of public safety at heart.
