Only 1% bus-truck drivers show up at BRTA’s mandatory training

Although heavy vehicles are the biggest source of road accidents in the country, the authorities have so far failed to bring bus and truck drivers under formal training. A majority of drivers of heavy vehicles do not have a licence to run such vehicles. Instead, they drive using licences for light or medium vehicles. The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) launched training programmes on road safety last year, but till now the participation rate of heavy vehicle drivers is only about 1%. The BRTA initiated the training programme for all drivers who visit its offices for renewal of driving licences. However, sources inside the authority said the number of participating drivers who run heavy vehicles is very low. Almost half of the country’s road accidents involve heavy vehicles, including buses, trucks and heavy trucks. Data compiled by the BRTA on 17 years of road accidents shows that 47% of them involve heavy vehicles. Of the 71,934 road accidents that took place between 1998 and 2014, a total of 16,647 were bus accidents, the highest of all vehicles. Heavy trucks were next with 14,957 accidents and 2,229 were truck accidents. Trucks are four or six-wheel vehicles, while heavy trucks are defined as 10-wheeler prime movers and trailers. Up to May this year, 228,201 heavy vehicles were registered with the BRTA. Of those, 41,722 were buses, 126,001 were trucks, 7,443 cargo vans, 22,169 covered vans, 25,763 delivery vans and a total of 5,103 prime movers and trailers. However, experts say the number of unregistered heavy vehicles plying the roads could be another 4,000 to 4,500. Most of the participating drivers are CNG three-wheeler or taxi drivers. Only one in every 100 trainees drives a heavy vehicle. Currently, there are 1,951,280 licensed drivers in the country whereas the number of registered vehicles stands at 3,042,853, which means only about 65% of them are operated by licensed drivers.The BRTA TrainingLast July, the BRTA introduced training sessions on Sundays and Mondays every week, in collaboration with with experts. In the last six months, the sessions have been more frequent, helping 100 to 200 professional drivers every week. The expert panel of trainers includes an officer from Bangladesh Police, one from BRTA and one from Accident Research Institute (ARI) of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet). A police inspector trains drivers to comply with traffic rules, realise why they have broken the rules, and learn what to do while on the road. The BRTA, meanwhile, teaches them how to drive safely on the roads. “Sometimes drivers drive at 120km per hour although the limit is 80km in many places. They also overtake other vehicles. The training teaches them how to refrain from doing these, and also emphasises on carrying a valid driving licence while on the wheels,” said an official. The training urges drivers to get driving licences as per the weight of their vehicle -light, medium or heavy. Drivers are also apprised of the punishment for disobeying traffic rules. The representative from ARI train drivers on avoiding reckless driving, not operating faulty vehicles, avoiding risky activities on the road, obeying traffic rules, awareness on road safety and risky behaviour of pedestrians. According to the Motor Vehicle Act, the maximum speed limit on highways is 80km while it is 40km in the cities. The limit was set by National Highway Safety Council. “Complying with speed limits as prescribed in the act is mandatory. The drivers have also been asked to stay alert about 243 black spots,” BRTA Director (Training) Mahammad Sirajul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune. “The expert panel trains drivers on the act and legal provisions so that they become more cautious and are able to avoid road accidents.” A driver is required to operate medium heavy vehicles like minibuses, mini trucks and pickups for three years prior to getting a licence for heavy vehicles.‘Proper licence for heavy vehicle drivers a must’Raising their concerns, experts said if the drivers of heavy vehicles cannot be provided with necessary licenses, it may exacerbate the situation. “The number of road accidents caused by heavy vehicles remains high, as drivers are not driving with proper licences. In training, when we ask those who are drivers of heavy vehicles to raise their hands, we find only about one in a hundred,” said Assistant Professor of Buet Kazi Md Shifun Newaz. “The number of drivers operating heavy vehicles is not rising, which means they are not getting the proper licence. May be they do not renew their licences. Most heavy vehicle drivers do not have proper experience for driving heavy vehicles, but they keep driving with licences for medium or light vehicles,” he added. Drivers who do not have a proper licence are facing legal action, but this alone cannot solve the problem, BRTA Director (Training) Mohammad Sirajul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune. “We can identify such drivers either after they are sued or when they come in for a renewal. We cancel their licence. But if we find that they have sufficient experience, we advise them to apply for a licence for heavy vehicles,” he said. Bangladesh Bus-Truck Owners’ Association Chairman Faruk Talukder Sohel told the Dhaka tribune that although 2.5 million licences are necessary, the government has issued only 1-1.2 million so far. “That is why most of the drivers use licences for light and medium vehicles,” he said. “I think the government should evaluate drivers’ experience with the light and medium vehicles, and issue heavy vehicle licences.” Sohel also said many drivers are Illiterate, so the government needs to do more to raise awareness and notify drivers with letters to renew their licences when they expire. According to the World Health Organisation, Bangladesh ranked seventh in Asia in terms of casualties in road accidents, behind only China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Thailand and Vietnam. Bangladesh is ranked 13th in the world in terms of deaths in road accidents.