Road accidents must be minimised
At least eight people, including the son of the land minister, were killed and 40 others injured in a series of road accidents on Bangabandhu Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge on Saturday morning. While deaths of so many people on a single day are a matter of great sorrow, it also raises certain pertinent questions.
It is understandable that on the fateful day there was poor visibility caused by dense fog and power outage on the bridge, but it is quite obvious that those responsible for regulating traffic on the bridge were not careful enough. According to a recent study, 8,642 people were killed and 21,855 injured in around 6,581 road accidents in Bangladesh in 2015. That shows on average 25/26 people were killed in road mishaps every day. In 2014, one person was killed every hour in traffic accidents on average. These are alarming figures indeed.
That road accidents are increasing in a horrifying dimension should be an issue of great concern. In the past, prominent personalities like Mishuk Munier, Tarek Masud, Jaglul Ahmed Chowdhury and others lost their lives in road accidents which have become a formidable national problem. The causes of road accidents are known to everybody yet these causes could not be successfully addressed by the relevant authorities. It is surprising that faulty vehicles, hazardous conditions of roads and highways, unskilled drivers in the steering wheels, reckless driving and violation of traffic rules are still a common reality despite vigorous campaigns.
For minimizing accidents, drivers recklessness must be dealt with. It is often found drivers on the roads without any valid document. These drivers who can make available a driving license for themselves through dubious means usually care a fig to abide by traffic rules. All this is occurring under the nose of the law enforcement personnel.
How long will this situation go on? The errant drivers must be brought to book and face the music. It has been observed that after arrest, the driver soon gets released on bail. A few years ago, an attempt was taken to make death sentence as the highest punishment for drivers responsible for killing people. But under the pressure of the trade union leaders the decision was withdrawn. We believe that time has come for going tough against the persons responsible for traffic accidents, be they the drivers, issuer of licenses to undeserving persons, negligent law enforcers and violators of traffic rules in general.
