There is no excuse for auto-rickshaw owners and CNG drivers disrupting traffic by blocking roads across the country.
It is one thing to lodge protests against the recent ban on three-wheel auto-rickshaws and non-motorised vehicles plying 3,570 km of the national highway network, quite another to flout the law and cause huge inconvenience to the public.
Similarly, Sunday’s suspension of services by CNG-run three-wheelers around the Postogola Bridge area of the capital in protest against the introduction of Tk15 and Tk10 tolls for motorcycles and rickshaws, shows an utter disregard for the right of authorities to enforce reasonable regulations on road-use.
We accept there are a number of difficulties associated with the ban. It is not, as some have claimed, a panacea that will automatically make inter-city highways safer.
Although eliminating lower speed vehicles from such roads is the right thing to do to smooth traffic flows and discourage dangerous overtaking, it remains the case that many bus, car, and truck drivers habitually drive in a reckless manner and are mainly responsible for the unconscionably high rate of accidents on Bangladesh’s roads.
It is also true that lack of alternative routes and suitable bus-services in rural areas leaves people with no choice but to use three-wheelers on major highways.
However, it is also the case that the ban only applies to a small proportion of the country’s total road network. Enforcing it while building new by-passes and bringing in better bus-services should overcome these difficulties and help everyone by making traffic safer and smoother.
Blocking public highways is not the right way to protest. By flouting the law, it only encourages others to do the same. The public-interest demands that all drivers of all types of vehicles obey and follow the law, not flout it to serve their own vested interests.