Four years after the historic student-led protests for road safety, and the Road Transport Act 2018 being drawn up, we are yet to see any real efforts to ensure safety for all citizens on the roads.
As unfortunate as it is, Bangladesh is no stranger to road accidents, with news on such occurrences being embarrassingly frequent. However, the number of road accidents, and subsequent injuries and deaths, has reached astounding heights, with only mismanagement to blame.
In August alone, 3,757 road accidents were recorded, with at least 603 people dead and 2,990 more injured.
Let's take a moment to dwell on that.
The leading causes of such accidents have been identified as a lack of bike lanes and other managerial misconduct; however, it is clear that there are much bigger issues at play here.
A continued negligence of fitness checks for vehicles, recklessness of public transport drivers, and the overall lack of accountability for all parties responsible are what attribute to the roads being dangerous for the common man.
That we have allowed this to get to this point, and for so long, is not only a matter of concern but is also a shameful scar in the history of our progress.
The fact that such a staggering number of lives are lost due to sheer negligence on the authorities' part is already a hard pill to swallow, let alone the fact that a large portion of the casualties consists of the youth of the country -- the leaders of our future being denied the right to a future at all.
How much longer will it be till the authorities finally take matters seriously, and solve the root of this very real problem? How many more lives must be lost in the process?
The authorities must act now to implement major changes to the system, and ensure safety on the streets, before our country is stripped of the very resources that will help it achieve its goals.