Despite moves to reduce road mishaps, reckless driving, especially on the highways, continued injuring and killing people.
According to the reports of various organizations, about 1500 people have lost their lives in road accidents across the country in the last four months and scores have been injured.
Even though after raising provision for increasing punishment in the 2018 Road Transport Act, discipline on the roads is nowhere in sight. Besides reckless driving and speeding, private transport drivers park buses hazardously creating risky situations for incoming traffic.
According to the Road Safety Foundation, a non-government organization, at least 439 people were killed and 682 people were injured in 417 road accidents across the country in November this year.
A total of 141 people died in 128 motorcycle accidents, which accounted for 32.11 percent of the total deaths, the foundation said.
Some 116 pedestrians were killed while 49 drivers and assistants to the drivers were killed during this period. At least three people were killed and eight were injured in four waterway accidents while 32 were killed and seven injured in train accidents.
Road Safety Foundation collected the data based on reports in seven national dailies, five online news portals and electronic media.
Although the speed of vehicles in the capital is low due to traffic congestion, but 5.15 percent of the total accidents in the country have occurred in Dhaka metropolis alone.
Speaking to long-distance commuters, most commuters complained about the speed of the buses on the highways. The buses become more dangerous at night than during the day, they said. In many cases, the bus driver become more reckless when asked to slow down, and even engage into a dispute with the passenger, they said.
Nirapad Sarak Chai Chairman, Ilias Kanchan told Bangladesh Post that public transports of the same company are also competing on the roads. The name of the company is one, but the bus belong to different owners. There are some buses that run on a contract basis. These are the ones that compete the most. We are fighting against it.
Passengers complained that some buses line up to pick up passengers, but most of the buses whimsically pick up and drop off passengers in the middle of the road. The bus helpers often push the passengers to get off quickly. During such dangerous efforts many passengers lose control and often fall victim to unwanted accidents.
Meanwhile, in order to compete in picking up passengers, there are frequent collisions between transports at each stop in the capital. There are signs of collision on almost every bus. Passengers are often injured when glass is broken due to collisions.
Meanwhile, traffic police on the highway make hardly any efforts to prevent such violations. Critics point out that because alleged involvement in bribe taking by law enforcers such unhealthy competition and reckless driving continues to be a ‘normal’ practice in Bangladesh.
