The death of yet another pedestrian after a bus ploughed into people in Kurmitola is yet another devastating reminder of a crisis that Bangladesh has tolerated for far too long.
Every such incident leaves behind grieving families and shattered lives, yet the cycle of outrage, promises, and eventual inaction continues with alarming regularity.
For years, our roads have been populated by buses that are visibly unfit for service and driven by individuals who often lack the necessary training, discipline, or qualifications to safely operate large passenger vehicles.
Reckless competition for passengers, poor vehicle maintenance, inadequate enforcement of traffic regulations, and a culture of impunity have combined to create an environment where preventable deaths have become distressingly common.
The greatest tragedy is that these incidents are rarely unavoidable; they are the consequence of systemic failures that have allowed dangerous practices to persist despite repeated warnings.
While individual drivers must certainly be held accountable for negligent behaviour, responsibility extends far beyond the person behind the wheel. Bus owners who continue to operate unsafe vehicles, transport companies that prioritize profits over safety, and regulatory authorities that fail to enforce existing laws all bear responsibility for the state of our roads.
Bangladesh cannot afford to treat each fatal crash as an isolated incident. Meaningful reform requires rigorous licensing standards, regular fitness inspections for public transport vehicles, strict penalties for violations, and uncompromising oversight of transport operators.
Additionally, GPS monitoring and digital records of driver qualifications and vehicle inspections should also be made standard practices.
Most importantly, there must finally be accountability. Every life lost due to negligence represents a failure of the system, and not merely an unfortunate accident.
It is time for the government, transport authorities, owners, and operators alike to be held to account, and for comprehensive reforms to be undertaken. Our public transport system should serve and protect the public, not continue to endanger it.