It is disheartening to note that the number of unfit vehicles across the country has been on the rise over the years, often causing fatal road accidents. Reportedly, more than five lakh registered vehicles are now on the roads without fitness clearance mainly due to poor monitoring by the authorities concerned.
It is worth mentioning that Bangladesh Roads and Transport Authority (BRTA) conducts drive against unfit vehicles, but the presence of such vehicles on the road exposes the sheer failure of the efforts of BRTA mobile team.
BRTA should think about the effectiveness of its drive against unfit vehicles and incorporate a new method to capture them. Also, mobile team of BRTA mobile should go after unfit vehicles on a regular basis.
Authorities concerned should devise
necessary steps to frequently audit
vehicular standards and fitness requirements
Over the last years various programmes have been taken up by the incumbent government to reduce the number of road accidents across the country but scenario remains unchanged.
Experts are of the opinion that unfit vehicles and unskilled drivers are the main reasons behind road mishaps. It needs to be mentioned that the recent bus accident in Savar’s Baliarpur which took four lives, including scientists of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, didn’t have a route permit, a valid fitness certificate and was operating without paying due taxes, said Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) on Monday.
It is obligatory for a vehicle to go through annual fitness check-up every year and renew its fitness certificate to ply the roads legally whereas more than 5 million unfit vehicles are running without fitness certificates. Taking all into consideration, authorities concerned should devise necessary steps to frequently audit
vehicular standards and fitness requirements by a specialised government cell with intensified traffic regulations.
Also, measures should be integrated to train up unskilled drivers on a regular basis. If such measures are executed properly, we hope that the rate of accidents will decrease and the dream of a safe road will become a reality.
In order to reinforce road safety, transport owners must rigidly scrutinize the driving skill of the drivers before recruiting. Authorities concerned should take immediate measures to improve the current road safety issues, such as examining driver’s skill and fitness of vehicle, discouraging reckless driving, improving the traffic police control system and ensuring more cooperation between the drivers and owners.