The number of road accidents is rising alarmingly across the country, despite government measures to bring safety to road and highway users.
Lack of proper supervision, misuse of administrative powers of some influential people and lack of public awareness were identified as the major reasons behind the high number of road crashes.
Law enforcement agencies have been reporting death in 'road accidents' almost every day. At least 7 people were killed under trucks and other motorized vehicles across the country. At least 13 brick-kiln workers were killed and five others injured when a coal-laden truck overturned on the labour shed of a brick field beside Dhaka-Chattogram Highway at Narayanpur in Chouddagram upazila on Friday.
A new road transport law has not been implemented. Meanwhile, only about 20 per cent traffic accident victims took their cases to court as the conviction rate was very low, although there is no official data to confirm this figure.
The new law specifies guidelines on the minimum age and academic qualifications for drivers, number of vehicles on a particular route, working hours for drivers and helpers of buses, trucks, covered vans and other vehicles, compensation for road crash victims, emergency helpline, among others.
At least 7,221 people have died in road accidents across the country in 2018, according to a report by the Bangladesh Passenger Welfare Organisation. A further 15,446 people were injured in a total of 5,514 road accidents throughout the year, the report added.
At least 27,000 people died in road accidents across the country in the past four years. This record shows 20 people die in road accidents in the country every day.
Another 62,482 people were injured in the road accidents that occurred in four years, according to the organization and Accident Research Institute of BUET (Bangladesh University of Engineering Technology).
A number of transportation experts believe that reckless drivers are the core reason behind the staggering number of road accidents in the country.
"Heavy traffic jam in the city makes the transport workers more reckless as they fail to make targeted number of trips because of traffic jam, making drivers more aggressive as gridlock cuts down their income," they added.
A growing number of motorcycles is mainly responsible for the sudden rise in accidents, says a new survey of Nirapad Sarak Chai (Nischa).
In 2016, the number of road accidents was 2,316, which grew to 3,349 in 2017. Last year 2018, the number of road accidents was around 3,200 -- the survey, based on reports published in mainstream newspapers.
Ilias Kanchan, a road safety crusader, claimed that many underage bikers are careless on the road and speed recklessly, often causing accidents after losing control. "That's why the number of accidents is on the rise," he said.
He said a growing number of unskilled drivers of CNG-run auto-rickshaws, easy bikes and other three-wheelers also contribute to frequent road accidents.
Kanchan said that a flawed transport system, mismanagement of owners, lack of monitoring, weak traffic management, lack of awareness among people, reckless speeding, poor road construction, lack of political will and lack of proper implementation of law are the other reasons behind road accidents.
