Identifying rampant road accident as a national crisis, the prime minister should acknowledge the responsibility and take proper measures to tackle it.
Speakers said this at a human chain organized by Passenger Welfare Association of Bangladesh (PWAB) yesterday at 11am in front of the National Press Club.
They alleged that National Road Safety Council did not have any road accident research cell. Moreover, the organisation was not active and lacked leadership failing to present the real scenario of road accidents.
According to World Health Organization, a staggering 55 people died daily on an average in Bangladesh in road accidents. In another research of BUET, at least 12,000 passengers are killed and 35,000 injured each year.
“Reckless driving, unfit vehicles, lack of awareness, lack of professional training, unskilled driving, and talking over the phone while driving are the main reasons behind the frequent accident,” said Mozammel Haque Chowdhury, secretary general of the PWAB.
Speakers emphasised on the economic as well as emotional toll of road accidents.
Overseas research in past has shown that road accidents affect the poor disproportionately. 60% people between age 15– 45 years account for more than half of all deaths, and most of them are the only breadwinner for their family.