Following an accident on the Sylhet-Dhaka highway in the Nazir Bazar area of Dakshin Surma upazila, Sylhet, that claimed the lives of 15 construction workers on Wednesday, the Highway Police is attributing the increasing number of accidents on the highway to outdated road signs and the overloading of passengers on different vehicles including pickup vans.
Speaking to Dhaka Tribune on Thursday, Mohammad Shaidullah, superintendent of police for the Sylhet region of the Highway Police, said many drivers in Sylhet, despite prohibition, transport passengers on the roofs of vehicles or on pickups.
"Drivers often overload their vehicles with passengers, particularly during festivals. Sometimes children play and dance inside these vehicles, distracting the driver, which can lead to accidents," he said.
The Sylhet to Sherpur section of the highway, which has 18 turns, also contributes to accidents, the police officer said.
Although road signs were installed along this section two years ago, they have not been updated since then, he added.
Commenting on Wednesday's accident, he said those who hired the construction workers are equally culpable for the accident because they could have arranged for an alternative form of transportation for these labourers.
"The people who hired them could have rented a minibus or local bus, but they opted for a pickup van and packed it with people, resulting in many lives lost," said Mohammad Shaidullah.
"They bear responsibility for this accident as well," he added.
As stipulated in section 49 (1) (Jha) of the Road Transport Act: "No passengers or goods or cargo may be carried on the front, rear, both sides, outside the body, or roof of a motor vehicle."
However, according to multiple sources within the police, penalties and litigation have not effectively curtailed this type of passenger transportation. They recommended the promotion of widespread public awareness on this issue.
The assistant director of the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority's Sylhet office, Md Riazul Islam, said negligence is a primary cause of road accidents in the Sylhet region.
In addition to overloading passengers on the roofs of vehicles, driving motorcycles without helmets, carrying excess passengers, and using mobile phones while driving are also significant factors in accidents, he said.
He also stated that many pedestrians are careless when using footbridges and that the negligence of drivers and paddy drying on roads also contribute to accidents.
Sylhet Metropolitan Police Additional Commissioner (Crime) Mohammad Masud Rana acknowledged the prohibition of passenger transport on pickup vans or trucks. Following the accident on Wednesday, he announced the start of a campaign on the issue.
He said the SMP's Traffic Division has been tasked to ensure that such vehicles are not allowed to carry passengers.
The Highway Police reported that 47 cases were filed under Section 92(1) of the Road Transport Act in May.
Additionally, from January to December last year, a total of 3,125 accident cases were filed, some of which involved motorcycles.
Section 92 of the Road Transport Act states: "If any person violates any provision of the first part of the general guidelines specified in Sub-Section (1) of Section 49, such violation shall be an offence. For such an offence, he/she will be punished with a maximum of three months' imprisonment, or a maximum fine of Tk10,000, or both. In the case of the driver, an additional demerit point will be deducted."