Vehicles running without fitness certificates should be off the roads, as unfit vehicles put the lives of commuters and pedestrians at risk, experts and activists said in response to a High Court order.The High Court has ordered the owners of vehicles with expired fitness certificates to renew them between August 1 and September 30.
Mozammel Hoque Chowdhury, secretary general of Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity, said the High Court order has given road safety activists hope.
“We are very frustrated with the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), as they have not been taking serious action against drivers of vehicles without fitness certificates. The transport sector in this city [Dhaka] is a total mess,” he added.
Mozammel further said vehicles without fitness certificates should not be allowed on roads and highways.
Kazi Md Shifun Newaz, assistant professor of the Accident Research Institute at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), told Dhaka Tribune: “Most of the vehicles running without fitness certificates are public transport such as buses and human haulers [legunas], as well as trucks. These vehicles put our lives at risk, and are also bad for the roads.”
Mentioning that a “staggering” 479,320 vehicles were running without fitness certificates in the country, he said some of the vehicles had been running without the certificates for 5-10 years, when they were supposed to be renewed every year.
The BUET assistant professor added that owners of vehicles are reluctant to get fitness certificates as they have to repair the vehicles first, which can be expensive.
When the High Court asked BRTA lawyer Advocate Rafiul Islam why the organization is not taking any action against vehicles without fitness certificates, he said the BRTA has filed 39,837 cases in 2018-2019 fiscal year.
A total 214 vehicles have been dumped, and 728 people served time in prison.
He also said fines amounting to Tk67,22,339 have been collected.
