By Limana Solaiman Mridha

A few days back, this writer came across a man with both of his limbs cut off from the knees, asking for some money so that he could buy something for his family to eat. Once, he was strong enough to work in a garments factory in Fatullah of Narayanganj. But a horrific road accident near Kalkini in Madaripur devastated his life.
“I was the breadwinner for my family. I used to earn quite a good amount of money, which was sufficient to feed our family, and we were happy. Now, the prospect of living without having to worry about finances has been ruined for my family because of that black day when I got in that accident. I used to dream that one day my daughter would become a doctor, but now her studies have been halted as we cannot afford it anymore,” 42-year-old Mizan said, while wiping tears from his eyes.
Mizan is one among many whose dreams are shattered everyday due to mayhem on our roads.
According to the Centre for Rehabilitating the Paralysed (CRP), an organisation helping people with paralyses, the majority of patients they receive are victims of road accidents.
The road that leads to the western side of Bangabandhu Multipurpose Bridge, which connects Sirajganj and Tangail over the River Jamuna, is a highly accident-prone zone in the country. The Weekend Independent learned of a victim who, after a deadly accident in the area in June, had to ask the locals to cut off his limbs trapped under the wreckage of his bus and save him.
Md Shamimur Rahman, who was working as Assistant Commissioner (Land) in Sirajganj town, heard about the accident and rushed to the scene immediately on behalf of the local administration.
“I found the skid marks of the tyres stretching for about the length of a badminton court, which made me wonder how fast  the driver was going that he could not stop even after braking so hard. Reckless driving is a major cause of accidents here in the Bangabandhu bridge area. I still remember the people who were present at the scene telling me that the driver requested them to cut off his trapped limbs as he could not bear the pain anymore,” said Rahman.
According to the statistics of  Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), from 2009 to mid-2016, the total number of road accidents that took place in the country is 19,450, which caused the deaths of 18,510 people and left 14,442 others injured or maimed. BRTA prepared the statistics based on cases reported with police. The number may be a lot higher as many accidents that have few casualties go unreported.  
Though the numbers in the BRTA statistics show that the frequency of accidents is decreasing, the rate of accidents and casualty can still be termed as quite high.  
The Accident Research Institute (ARI) of BUET (Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology) is doing research on accidents and road safety issues in Bangladesh. When contacted, Kazi Md Shifun Newaz, an assistant professor at ARI, pointed out various reasons which are causing fatal accidents across the country.
“The highways in Bangladesh are mostly two-lane, which are used by vehicles of different speeds, from three-wheelers like rickshaw vans to heavy vehicles like buses and trucks.  The speed difference can sometimes vary from 10 km/h to 100 km/h.
This causes speeding vehicles to crash into the low velocity vehicles from the back. At the same time, buses or other high speed vehicles have the tendency to overtake one another which poses further risks of collisions.” Newaz said.
Markets and dwellings along the highways also bear risks of accidents.
“People build makeshift sheds near highways, gradually those  create huge gatherings and, thus, settlements of illegal bazaars near the highways create threat of deadly accidents, as well,” Newaz said.
Land acquisition is another problem, in some cases. As people sometimes resist giving up their land for construction of highways, the roads end up with sharp turns in places which also lead to road mishaps, he added.
Newaz also said: “In developed countries, you won’t see domestic animals roaming around on the highways, but in Bangladesh this is quite a common phenomenon. One of our ex-ministers also died in a road accident where the driver of his microbus tried to save a stray cow and crashed into a roadside ditch, leaving the former minister dead.”    
A main reason for road accidents is the lack of skilled and legal drivers on the streets. It has become a regular practice for vehicle owners to get driving  licences and vehicle fitness papers from Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) illegally with the help of middlemen, who assure original documents without any verification or legal process.
Md Munibur Rahman, an executive magistrate of BRTA, said authorities are continuously conducting drives against unfit vehicles, fake driving licences and drivers who do not have any valid licences.
“We are conducting mobile courts daily to enforce the law regarding road safety,” the magistrate said.  
Obaidul Quader, minister for road transport and bridges, can be seen paying regular visits to BRTA offices to curb illegal activities and in turn, assuring safer streets.
Another major reason for road accidents may be the rush caused by severe traffic jams on the streets. While vehicles are stuck for hours in one place, when  traffic movement resumes, drivers sometimes flaunt traffic laws in their hurry to get going,  leaving the system in total chaos, resulting in accidents both within the city or on highways.
Nevertheless, drivers are not always to be blamed for all the accidents. Some do take place because pedestrians or non- mechanised vehicles, like rickshaws, do not always abide by traffic rules, like crossing roads at designated spots or using footbridges, oblivious to the consequences.
To avoid road accidents, the most important thing to do is to ensure that drivers get their  licences legally after passing the required tests, and vehicle fitness certificates are genuine. Starting from rickshaws and private cars to intercity buses and trucks, all drivers should be properly trained and made aware of the rules and regulations of the streets. Stricter traffic laws, and enforcement of existing ones need to be warranted with timely punishment of violators.
At present, the law only suggests 7 to 9 years imprisonment for reckless driving, provided the charge is proven beyond reasonable doubt. In most of the cases, lack of proper investigation and monitoring means the victims suffer from getting justice or compensation. However, they can make claims under tort, said Raisul Islam Sourav, an advocate. Few months ago, a deceased journalist’s family got compensation in this way, albeit after a long time, he added.
The Weekend magazine caught up with Bayzid Majumder, a motorcyclist, to learn about his recent accident:
“A politician, government high official or whoever gets involved in a road accident should not be treated any different than the general public. Back in 2014, I witnessed an accident where a motorcycle was hit and run over by a government vehicle. What’s more tragic is that the traffic officer on duty personally made sure that the vehicle (a white microbus) could get away. When we asked the officer why he did not do anything to stop the vehicle, he said it was a government vehicle and he was supposed to ensure its free passage during traffic jams. However, he blatantly denied knowing anything about the accident involving that particular microbus.
During Ramadan this year, I got into an accident which almost took my life. It was around 5:30 pm and I was on my bike getting iftar for my family from the Old Town. Right in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I was trying to overtake a bus from the right side. But since it would not let me pass, I was going to cross it from the left and there it was _ rickshaw right in front of me. What you have to understand is that it is a three-lane road and the rickshaw did not have any reason to be on the middle lane of a VIP road where rickshaws are not allowed. Maybe it was trying to cut through the road divider, or perhaps it was trying to get on the right-side lane so it could go towards Shegun Bagicha easily. But the rickshaw-puller’s lack of awareness cost me a broken leg _ in two different places, three broken teeth, scratches here and there and one month of bed rest, and not to mention the pain and suffering both for me and my family.  Everyone who saw the accident blamed the rickshaw-puller, but also added that he is poor and helpless. Are they? The slowest possible vehicle on earth, in one of the most traffic congested cities of the world, running freely on the streets without any kind of training or knowledge of traffic rules or driving permit.”
He added: “We do not have to look too far to the west for examples. If you visit Kolkata in India, you will  be surprised to see how law-abiding their drivers are out there on the streets. You would barely find a traffic police standing in the middle of the road giving instructions or monitoring. All the drivers stand still at a traffic signal when the light goes red, even if the streets are empty from all different directions. It is all about how strict you are about punishment regarding traffic violation. Once people have proper knowledge of the rules and consequences of breaking them, we can hope that everyone would be more cautious while driving.”
Road accidents are taking a toll in our everyday life, with the loss of  loved ones, who are often  earning members of the family or its future. Yet, we are not cautious enough to take preventive measures to avoid accidents.
Yet, there are people who don’t sit back and hope that the government would do it all for them. They sometimes take the initiative for their own good and the betterment of the society as a whole.
Recently, some individuals at BRAC arranged a monthlong observation camp around Dhaka city and discovered some disturbing facts about street hazards and trap holes. During that time, more than 600 people got injured just in the capital city due to unmarked speed breakers, potholes and various other safety hazards lying around an average person’s commute route. Added up, this number reaches a staggering 7,200 a year.
In collaboration with BDCylists, the largest cyclists’ community in Bangladesh, BRAC developed a mobile phone app, Road Safety Dhaka.
First of its kind, the app is out on Android’s Play Store. It is still in a pilot phase and the aim is to develop the app for other popular mobile platforms, such as IOS and Windows, to gain larger access. Currently the app’s main focus is to mark the unmarked bumps and potholes in Dhaka city and alert road users. Any user can see the mapping on ‘Road Safety Dhaka’ app and its website: www.roadsafetydhdka.net. With this road safety app, everyone with an Android phone can become a road safety change-maker.
Another organisation working towards safer roads is Nirapad Sharak Chai (NISCHA), a non-profit and non-political voluntary organisation. It was formed in 1993 after the tragic death of Jahanara Kanchan, wife of popular actor Ilias Kanchan. NISCHA is a member of the National Road Safety Council of Bangladesh, Ministry of Communication, BRAC, BUET-Accident Research Institute and other relevant government and non-government bodies. It is also one of the agencies working with WHO to ensure the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety becomes a reality.
Although these are minor initiatives, they still give us a chance to spread awareness about road safety issues, whereas sitting idle, waiting for the authorities to solve all the problems will only get us so far. As we approach November 16, the  ‘World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims’, we need to act so that no more lives are lost in vain and no more dreams are shattered.

Photos: Archives