There is no denying that the government has taken various measures to speed up construction work of multilane highways and implement the Road Safety Act to reduce the number of road accidents but road safety has not been ensured yet as many black-spots have been developed on the national highways across the country.
It is alarming to note that 4,138 people were killed in 4,147 road accidents in 2019 while 2,635 lives were lost in 2,609 road crashes in 2018 as reported by this daily on Friday.
Reportedly, there are 222 dangerous spots on our highways where the majority of accidents take place. Hence, these points of the roads need to be redesigned in no time in order to reduce the number of road mishaps. In this regard, it is good to note that the government has asked the authorities concerned to identify ‘black spots’on national highways and send a proposal to the ministry concerned.
In order to reinforce road safety, the
design and quality of the roads and
highways must be improved
Scrutinising the way road accidents are taking place in Bangladesh, it can be said that most of the road safety measures taken over the last few years have gone in vein.
Following the students movement for reinforcing road safety in 2018, the government issued a five-point directive to prevent road accidents. But most of the directives have rendered ineffective due to the protests of the transport owners and workers.
Every day we are bombarded with reports of horrendous road accidents and it is time the government put all-out efforts to bring some order to the road. Stern actions must be taken against reckless driving. Also, in order to reinforce road safety, the design and quality of the roads and highways must be improved and there should be mass awareness on traffic rules.
Last but not least, in order to maintain discipline on roads, the idea of Black Box can play an effective role. It will not cost more than Tk 10 thousand but will definitely help monitor vehicular speed and other related factors that cause an accident.
