The number of road accidents in the country has been continuously rising over the past several years despite the government’s commitment to reduce them by 20-25% by 2024 and 50% by 2030.
The government formed a high-level task force to bring the chaos on roads under control in 2019, but it is yet to have any visible impact. The number of road accidents in the country even rose during the height of the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown in 2020.
At least 5,088 people were killed in 5,472 road crashes in 2021, which is 30% higher than in the previous year, according to Bangladesh police data.
Statistics from the Passenger Welfare Association of Bangladesh (PWAB) paint an even bleaker picture, as it recorded 7,809 deaths and 9,039 injuries in 5,629 road crashes last year.
Amid the rising number of road accidents and deaths, the high-level road safety task force headed by Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal will hold its next meeting at the Secretariat on Sunday.
The task force previously formed six separate committees to submit recommendations to improve road safety. One of the committees submitted 111 recommendations to bring discipline to roads, but none of them have been executed yet, said a government official.
The main reason for the delay in implementing the recommendations was the bureaucracy, he added.
Roads and Highways Division Secretary Nazrul Islam said: “Many recommendations are in the process of being executed. Highways are being redesigned, rest houses will be set up for drivers, and road safety awareness campaigns will be conducted.”
Action plan of government
The National Road Safety Council (NRSC) has been implementing a road safety action plan since 1997. The council executed an action plan for 2011-2020 to reduce road accidents by 50% as per a target of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) set by the United Nations.
However, experts said the numbers of fatal road accidents and casualties almost doubled from 2011 to 2020, instead of being halved. Subsequently, the government set a new action plan to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by 20%-25% by 2024 and 50% by 2030 following the UN General Assembly’s Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030.
Why the rise in road crashes?
According to experts, unskilled drivers, lack of awareness of passengers and pedestrians, faulty road designs, and the operation of a high number of small vehicles, including motorcycles, are mainly behind the rise in the number of road accidents and fatalities.
They said the government’s main failure related to developing the public transport system, such as by providing inadequate training to drivers.
“Fixing an action plan is not good enough to ensure road safety. Strict execution of rules and political commitment is a must to reduce accidents,” said Prof Md Hadiuzzaman, director at the Accident Research Institute (ARI) of Buet.
He urged a proper implementation of the Road Transport Act and proper maintenance of road and bridge infrastructure, in addition to raising the awareness of drivers, passengers, and pedestrians.
“It is alarming that the number of road crashes and casualties increased even though the movement of all public vehicles and vessels were suspended for 85 days in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Mozammel Haque, secretary general of PWAB.
According to the World Health Organization, approximately 747,500 people die in road crashes every year. A further 7.5 to 11.2 million people are severely injured.
Road crashes are the leading cause of death for children and young adults. Road deaths and injuries cost developing countries 3-5% of their GDP.
