Death and destruction caused by road accidents has, unfortunately, become a part of everyday life in Bangladesh, from the busiest cities to the remotest corners. According to data compiled by watchdog group Road Safety Foundation, close to 500 people lost their lives while almost 700 were injured in road accidents across the nation last month.
We have reached a point where the numbers, despite seemingly becoming higher and higher with each passing year, have lost all meaning.
Despite the government’s repeated commitment towards improving the state of our road safety -- a task force was supposedly formed some four years ago to that end -- such promises have clearly not resulted in any visible actions, let alone the desired results. According to the same report, 187 (34.56%) accidents occurred on national highways, 232 (42.88%) on regional roads, 81 (14.97%) on rural roads, 33 (6.09%) on urban roads, and 8 (1.47%) in other places -- Dhaka division, unsurprisingly, witnessed the highest number of accidents, with 138 reported accidents resulting in 119 fatalities.
Again, these numbers pertain to the month of November alone.
One of the most prominent contributors to the ever-increasing rates of road accidents is, as we’ve known for a long time now, reckless bus drivers who are all but incentivized to compete with each other by their employers. These unscrupulous transport company owners foment an environment that encourages bus and truck drivers to disregard the rules of the road in an effort to collect as many passengers as possible, endangering the lives of the public in the process.
Lest we forget, a similar incident is what led to the historic student-led road safety protests five years ago, a movement which culminated in the Road Transport Act 2018, a law which has had little to no effect in curbing deaths from road accidents.
The government cannot lose control when it comes to ensuring road safety. A good start, to that end, would be to enforce the laws and rules that are already in effect.