40,000 killed in road crashes in 5yrs
Syed Shemul Parvez :
Now-a-days, the roads of Bangladesh have turned into most dangerous death traps in the world. Death procession is being lengthy day by day despite taking stern initiatives by the government.
Roads accidents cannot be abate by any means though frantic efforts are being made by the authority concerned.
As a result, people of the country are in serious panic on regular fear of getting killed in a road accident at any moment.
Many irritated people expressed their deep frustration over the issue as dozens of people being killed everyday on the roads despite plethora of infrastructural development in the country.
Though the government has acknowledged all the demands of 2018’s road safety protesters, but none of it has been implemented in the last five years. As a result, numerous lives are lost on the roads every day.
Recently the number of road accidents has increased across the country due to dense fog and reckless driving.
Besides, risky overtaking, dilapidated road shapes, unfit vehicles, unskilled drivers, using mobile or headphone by the drivers while plying vehicle, drinking liquor, grabbing footpath and lack of awareness among road users have been shown as the main reasons in the various report behind the road accidents.
About 40,000 people were killed and over 70,000 injured in various road accidents across the country in the last five years, according to the passenger welfare body sources on the basis of different media reports.
An earlier report (July,2023) by the passenger welfare body Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity (BJKS) claimed that at least 39,522 people were killed and 58,791 injured in 28,299 road accidents across Bangladesh in the last five years,
2022, witnessed the highest fatalists in the last five years as 9,951 people died in road crashes.
In 2023, as many as 5,024 people were killed in 5,495 road accidents across the country in 2023, the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) says.
In another latest reports in the year of 2023 by Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity (BJKS), as many as 7,902 people died and 10,372 others were injured in 6,261 road accidents across the country.
The highest 573 people died and 1,126 were injured in 511 road accidents throughout Bangladesh in July 2023.
In 2022, At least 9,951 people (highest in 5 years) were killed and 12,356 others were injured in 6,749 road accidents across Bangladesh in 2022, said a report.
The number of road accidents increased by 18.89 per cent and fatalities by 27.43 per cent in 2022 compared with the number of 2021, a report of the Passenger Welfare Association of Bangladesh said.
In 2021, As many as 6,284 people, including 927 women and 734 children, were killed in 5,371 reported road accidents across the country, according to the Road Safety Foundation (RSF), an organisation that campaigns for safe roads.
In 2020, 5,431 people were killed and 7,379 others were injured in road crashes, according to an annual report of the Bangladesh Road Safety Foundation (RSF).
The figures were revealed in the Bangladesh Passengers Welfare Association’s (BPWA) annual road accident monitoring report for 2020.
In 2019, at least 7,855 people were killed and 13,330 others injured in 5,516 road accidents across the country.
“The death toll from road crashes in the last year increased 8.07 per cent than that of 2018,” Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity said in its annual report.
Md Mozammel Haque Chowdhury, Secretary General of the BJKS, said: “Traffic wastes working hours. The uncontrolled rise of unfit vehicles, motorcycles, easy bikes, battery-run rickshaws and autorickshaws is due to the government’s poor planning.”
“Despite quickly passing the new Road Transport Act, 2018 in response to the demands of the protesting students, the desired results in this sector remain elusive due to obstacles from transport owners and workers as well as the outdated implementation of the law,” he said.
The government’s inability to ensure road safety and discipline stems from a lack of proper leadership and research, he also added.
Shamsul Haque, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Professor said that accidents are mainly created by us.
So, it cannot be called an accident, rather it should be called a crash. Accidents will increase even more if the drivers are not trained and skilled. Drivers should be made efficient so that they can manage any situation. Training safe drivers is very important in the country, he said.
BRTA’s responsibility is to first train the drivers well and then license them. BRTA needs to be more conscious about vehicle fitness processes and driver licensing, he added.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) has informed recently that road accidents and traffic jam in Dhaka cause loss of Tk 1 lakh 75 thousand crore annually, which is five percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
BUET Accident Research Institute (ARI) Prof Dr Mohammad Mahbub Alam Talukder revealed this information at a programme in December.
The country witnesses loss of Tk 70,000 crore per annum due to road accidents. The amount is two percent of the GDP.
Besides, some Tk 1 lakh 5 thousand crore is lost for traffic jam in the capital. The amount is three percent of the GDP, said Prof Dr Mohammad Mahbub Alam Talukder.