The constant terror of road crashes
Road crashes are so frequent in Bangladesh throughout the year that they have become the norm, causing a perpetual state of anxiety among people on the road. Two major back-to-back crashes this week took the lives of 28 people. It begs the question: will the authorities ever roll up their sleeves to stop these atrocities?
In the most recent incident, a cement-laden truck crashed into four vehicles after losing control, reducing them into scrap metal. This so-called accident is particularly noteworthy since it points the finger at two major reasons why crashes occur. First, a large number of vehicles in the country lack mandatory fitness certificates; even if they do have the clearance, their authenticity remains questionable. Second, drivers of commercial vehicles don't just lack formal training, but they are extremely overworked too, despite the prime minister's directive to the authorities to ban driving for more than five consecutive hours on highways. It's even more concerning when we find that in many of these roads where fast moving vehicles ply, the authorities are yet to conduct any safety audits to identify roads with poor conditions, or note down the number of illegal structures on the side of the roads to be removed via drives.
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While these problems have plagued the transport sector for long, the authorities responsible have only responded with apathy, treating these crashes with the attitude that "these things just happen." A recent investigation by this daily found that the country has three high-powered committees to deal with road safety, but they rarely meet, and even when they do, their recommendations go unheeded.
Accidents are no longer simply accidents; they are now outcomes of our authorities' consistent neglect. The World Bank's appraisal report in June 2023 highlights the lack of accountability and coordination among relevant government bodies to be a major reason behind the devastating situation regarding road safety in Bangladesh. To address these concerns, the government needs to first acknowledge the sheer severity of the problem and hold those responsible for ensuring road safety accountable, including the Roads and Highways Department, Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, and law enforcement agencies. Until it does so, the government remains directly answerable for the preventable deaths on our roads and highways.
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