In the 23 days that officials at the Mirpur circle office of the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) have served their duties in October – amounting to a total working duration of around 11,000 minutes –they have issued clearance certificate to 17,965 vehicles, meaning less than two minutes for certifying each vehicle.
According to Kazi Md Shifun Newaz, assistant professor at Accident Research Institute (ARI) of BUET,this is supposed to take fifteen minutes.
As per Motor Vehicles Ordinance 1983, it is mandatory for a vehicle to go through a fitness check-up every year and have its fitness certificate renewed in order to operate legally on the roads. For violating Section 47 of the ordinance, which deals with fitness clearance, a person may face, for the first offence, a maximum of three months’ imprisonment and/or a fine of up to Tk2,000. For subsequent offences, the person may face up to six months in jail and/or a fine of up to Tk5,000.
According to sources at BRTA, under pressure from the students’ movement for road safety as well as the Traffic Week conducted by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) in August, the number of transport fitness certificate applications has suddenly increased. However, the number of officials and machines required to check vehicles fitness have not been increased at the BRTA office in Mirpur.
Visiting the office on November 8, our correspondent found that there were 10 inspectors with two assistants in the fitness section, but only two digital machines. The officials served their duties in two shifts –with five inspectors per shift – due to a machine crisis.
Seeking anonymity, one of the inspectors at the office said they need a minimum of 15 minutes for both digital and visual fitness tests, with 30-35 parts of a vehicle requiring mandatory checking.
“However, we are certifying around 800-1,000 vehicles every day after checking only some common concerns such as adherence to original design, proper function of brakes and gears, proper headlights, speed, emission consistency and a proper paint job.”
Shifun Newaz said: “According to the law, there are at least 30 types of technical and physical tests that a vehicle needs to be tested for in order to pass fitness certification, and for which a minimum of 15-20 minutes is needed.”
However, BRTA officials claimed they were doing their jobs the right way. Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, BRTA Assistant Director for Vehicle Fitness Md Morshedul Alam said: “Our inspectors have expertise in this field, and that’s why they do not need so much time to perform their duties.”
He concluded by saying there is a need to increase the number of inspection equipment.
