Little has been achieved in curbing the frequency of road crashes since the UN launched the global Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030. The statistics remain as bleak as ever -- around 1.3 million people die every year from road crashes worldwide (WHO 2018) while between 20 and 50 million more people suffer non-fatal injuries -- the same number of people incur a disability caused by their injury.
More than half of all road traffic deaths are among pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists and even worse, it remains a leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5-29 years.
Nonetheless, on a positive note, governments are showing promptness in taking initiatives and collaborating with partners and stakeholders better than before.
In Bangladesh, following the enactment of the Road Transport Act 2018, the government drafted the Road Transport Rules, a prerequisite to implement the Act, which are now in the process of evaluation by the stakeholder ministries.
This, however, is taking an inordinately long time.
The drafted Road Transport Rules have attempted, among others, to address the five key behaviour risk factors of road users -- speed, helmet use, seatbelt use, child-restraint measures, and drinking while driving.
The draft Rules, once finalized, adopted, and implemented, will fill the gaps of the Road Transport Act 2018 in these areas. Below is a summary of how the draft Rules address the gaps.
- The Act, while making speeding a punishable act, does not provide how speeding can be determined for different types of vehicles using different roads. The Rules fill this gap by providing specific regulations on traffic management of speed limits of motorized vehicles. They also direct the authority to formulate a guideline for speed management of different types of motorized vehicles.
- The Act, while making it mandatory to wear safety helmets for motorcycle users, does not provide a detailed direction for its specification and standard. The draft Rules fill this gap through giving directions to the Bangladesh Standard Testing Institute (BSTI) to take lead in setting the quality standards for such helmets as well as specifying standard testing methods.
- The Act makes seat belts mandatory for drivers only but the draft Rules make seat belts compulsory for passengers also.
- The Act does not provide direction towards compulsory adoption of child restraint systems in transport. To fill the gap, the Rules make putting a child restraint system in transport compulsory.
- While the Act prohibits drunk driving, it does not detail out its implementation aspects. The draft Rules specify the highest permissible level of alcohol in blood, which will ease the way of enforcing the law. However, the draft Rules do not specify methods of alcohol measurement and necessary equipment to do the ta
Evidently, full implementation of the Road Transport Act will be thwarted until the enactment of the Rules under it. The stakeholders, therefore, eagerly wait for the government to pass the Rules immediately.
We are also aware of the fact that enactment of the Rules won’t be sufficient as it will need formulation of guidelines in the mentioned areas. So as soon as the Rules are passed, the entities responsible for the guidelines will be prompted in their assigned tasks.
While we urgently await the enactment of the Rules, we also look forward to formulation of a separate policy and plans integrating the internationally recognised “safe systems approach,” combining all the safety aspects of road use -- safe road, safe vehicle, safe road user, and safe speed.
The role of this policy will be crucial in further preventing loss of life and injuries from incidents of road crashes.
Bangladesh has one of the highest road crash fatality rates in the world with an estimated 24,954 people killed every year, according to the WHO Global Status Report on Road Safety 2018.
The crash rates released by the government are much less though. New risks are adding to the old ones on the roads every day. Motorcycles, one of the most vulnerable vehicles, increased three-fold over the 2016-18 period. More public transport vehicles are hitting the road each day, without adopting safety measures for passengers.
The rising risks on the roads can only be mitigated through fully developed laws and regulations and their strict implementation, and robust collaboration between the government, citizen bodies, and the community dedicated to the cause.
In order to support the government in the area of legislation, 10 citizen bodies have formed “Road Safety Coalition,” the members of which are: NirapodSarak Chai, BRAC, Dhaka Ahsania Mission, Accident Research Center (BUET), Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, Center for Injury Prevention and Research, Heart Foundation of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Orthopedic Society, Impressive Communication Limited, and Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC).
All these organizations have track records of steady work in promoting road safety. Given that such platforms broaden the opportunity for collaboration and coordination, they look forward to the government to tap their capacities.
The SDGs 3.6 (halving the number of road traffic casualties) and 11.2 (access for all to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems) pose a difficult challenge to all those countries with a burden of road crash casualties.
For Bangladesh, it’s practically a race against time that can only be won through dedicated actions and close collaboration.
Ahmed Najmul Hussain is director of the Road Safety Program of BRAC.
