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Cases of traffic rule breach drop

Number of deaths and injured still high


Published : 22 Oct 2020 09:30 PM | Updated : 23 Oct 2020 12:50 AM

Traffic rules violations have significantly been reduced since the 'Road Transport Act-2018'came into force.

Sources in the traffic police department said that drivers in the city and other places are generally believed to be obeying the traffic rules more than ever before as they are to face ‘on-the-spot’ fines for any violations. 

There are rare cases of drivers driving on fake driving license now andalmost every vehicle on the streets now possessesfitness certificate. Many police officers,on duty on the streets, have expressed these views. The road transport authorities also claimed that the safety and discipline on the roads has increased.

Recent statistics, however, show that after the law came into force a year ago, the number of traffic rules violations has decreased, but there is hardly any changes in the number of deaths and injuries from road accidents.

Meanwhile, the National Road Safety Day was observed across the country on Thursday in a bid to increase public awareness about road safety.

Experts said that despite some changes and improvements in the recent law, complete safety and order on the road is still a far cry.

Transport expert Dr Shamsul Haque said, “The whole issue of discipline in Bangladesh has been left in the hands of the traffic police. Honest planning is required to make the roads safer and the drivers need to be more skilled to avoid road mishaps.”

However, road accident in Bangladesh is still one of the top causes of deaths on the streets. Some 37,170 people were killed in 26,902 accidents across the country in the last five years. Some 82,758 people were injured in these accidents, according to a report released by Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity (BJKS) on Wednesday, marking the National Roads Safety Day.

According to the BJKS’s report, 8,642 people were killed and 21,855 injured in 6,581 road accidents in 2015 alone. In 2016, some 6,055 people were killed and 15,914 injured in 4,312 road accidents.

Besides, 7,397 people were killed and 16,193 injured in 4,979 accidents in 2017; while 7,221 people were killed and 15,466 were injured in 5,514 accidents in 2018, the BJKS report said. In 2019, 7,855 people were killed and 13,330 injured in 5,516 accidents.

The BJKS claimed that many reports of road accidents are not published in newspapers.

However, the road safety experts said that traffic chaos, anarchy, random fare hike and harassment of passengers still remain the same as before. As a result, passengers’ suffering, traffic jams and road accidents are increasing day by day.

Khandaker Enayet Ullah, secretary general of Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association told Bangladesh Post that the road has become safer with the awareness and cooperation of the owners and workers after the law came into force. Owners and workers are not against the law. But if there is a law against the interests, the desired discipline will not come on the road.

Nur Mohammad Mazumder, Chairman of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) told Bangladesh Post that the roads are safer than before. Discipline will not come rapidly. Not only the owner-worker, but also the passenger-pedestrian should be aware.