By this point, death and destruction caused by road accidents has become entirely ubiquitous with Bangladesh itself, given that as many as 394 lives were claimed in 398 road accidents across the country last month alone, according to data collated by non-government organization Road Safety Foundation.
It is nothing less than a matter of shame for us as a nation that despite the numerous laws and provisions which have been passed to curb this fatal phenomenon, none of it seems to actually have done anything to that end as deaths from road accidents make the news on a seemingly everyday basis.
While the government’s announcement of a compensation package for those grieving the deaths of their loved ones from road accidents, the administration still needs to address the issue at its core -- the lack of safety on our roads and highways has always been a structural issue, from unfit vehicles plying our roads without consequence to malicious, profiteering bus companies pitting their drivers against each other to engage in reckless behaviour behind the wheels.
It has been five years now that the nation witnessed the historic movement for road safety where school students exposed just how broken our current traffic systems and infrastructure are. And while it did lead to the enactment of the Road Transport Act 2018, the law does not appear to have had the desired effect.
Road accidents are the culmination of multiple systems being broken in tandem, but given the fatal results it is utterly baffling how any and all steps taken to bring down the numbers simply do not work.
This cannot be a part of our national identity.
Thursday, June 04, 2026
