The country is witnessing fatal motorcycle mishaps and many people mostly young are dying every day on roads and highways due to lack of strict monitoring by the authorities concerned. In the early hours of Friday, three teenagers were killed in a motorcycle accident at Betagi upazila in Barguna district when they were returning from a Waz Mahfil, a religious programme of the Muslim community.
It has been noticed that the use of motorcycles is becoming increasingly popular in the country because of poor public and private transportation system. !The sale of the two-wheelers has got momentum everywhere in the country due to the increased demand.
Many leading motorcycle companies in the world have started motorcycle manufacturing in Bangladesh. The government is expanding the motorcycle industry as it thinks this sector will contribute to the national economy by generating more employment, developing a skilled workforce and transferring technology.
The government should take
necessary steps to construct
designated lane for motorcycles
However, an increasing number of motorcycles on the road and highways are raising the risks of accidents. With the increase of motorbikes on the roads and highways, the number of fatal accident is also increasing.
Unhealthy competition among the motorcyclists, reckless driving and violation traffic rules are responsible for the road crash. If the authorities do not take effective steps to control the plying of motorcycles the number of road crashes and fatalities would increase further.
According to Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), the number of registered motorbikes are more than 35 lakh. Nearly nine lakh of the registered motorcycles operate in Dhaka city alone. But the government has not taken any initiative to construct separated lane for the motorcycles.
A large number of motorcycles, especially in the district and upazila levels are not registered. Many motorbikes are still running without licences, making roads and highways more prone to disaster. Therefore, government must take steps to stop plying of the unregistered motorbikes immediately. Besides, it will also have to construct separated lane for motorcycles and frame policies to save lives on roads and highways.
