Bangladesh Road Transport Authority has identified 10 factors contributing to the sharp rise in the number of deaths in road crashes during the Eid holidays.

It linked drivers and pedestrians with nine causes and mentioned the absence of road dividers as the 10th.

The BRTA, however, shrugged off its own liability and cleared other agencies from the responsibilities at a time when thousands of unregistered and unfit vehicles are being operated right under the noses of the authorities concerned.

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Eid Holiday: Road crashes, casualties jump

After three major road crashes took place just last week, it was found that either the vehicles involved had no fitness clearance or route permit, or the drivers had no valid licence.

"…If you want to blame us, you can," BRTA Chairman Nur Mohammad Mazumder said responding to a reporter during a media briefing at the BRTA headquarters.

The briefing was on road crashes during the Eid holidays, the steps taken by BRTA and the overall road safety issues.

He said the BRTA took different measures to "gift a congestion-free Eid", but two major road crashes have marred its success.

Last Tuesday, a head-on collision between a bus and a pickup in Faridpur claimed 15 lives, including five of a family. The bus had no route permit, fitness certificate and tax token, while the pickup carried passengers illegally.

The very next day, a truck ploughed through several vehicles in Jhalakathi, killing 14 and injuring 12. The truck driver did not have the licence required for heavy vehicles.

On Friday, a Raida Paribahan bus rammed a motorcycle near Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka and killed an engineer. The bus had no fitness clearance and the driver had no valid licence, Rab said.

At yesterday's briefing, the BRTA chairman further said 295 people were killed and 405 were injured in 254 road crashes in 15 days (from April 4 to 18).

In the corresponding period last year, 239 people were killed and 510 were injured in 253 road crashes in 15 days.

This means deaths by road crashes saw a 18.75 percent rise this year from the last, although number of accidents remained almost the same.

Nur added that mobile courts across the country filed 2,113 cases and realised Tk 41.65 lakhs worth of fines from April 1 to 20.

Meanwhile, highway police prosecuted 8,592 vehicles for over-speeding and operating unfit and illegal vehicles.

"The drives will continue," he added.

BRTA'S 10 REASONS

The reasons, according to the BRTA, for the spike in deaths on road are: drivers' carelessness leading to loss of control over wheels; rash driving; reckless overtaking; carelessness of pedestrians while crossing the road; operation of three-wheelers and other illegal vehicles on highways; bikers disobeying traffic rules; drivers not following traffic signs and road markings; illegal parking on highways; and no dividers on roads with two-way traffic. 

Asked whether the BRTA and other authorities concerned have no liability behind the accidents when thousands of vehicles are in operation without fitness clearance and drivers have no valid licences, the chairman did not give any direct reply.

Till April 15, 6.17 lakh vehicles did not go through the mandatory fitness tests. The number was 4.79 lakh in July 2019.

BRTA data shows there are 35,782 registered buses that are aged over 20 years, and 37,275 trucks and lorries over 25.

Nur said they were working to determine the actual number of vehicles without fitness clearance, because many of the vehicles mentioned in the BRTA data no longer exist on roads.

When another reporter reiterated whether the BRTA holds no responsibility, he said, "I have already said that everybody has liability to bear."

The BRTA is a regulatory body that is supposed to deal with road transport-related regulations.

In other countries, there are separate departments to deal with the enforcement issues.

"It is not possible for the BRTA to do all these things with such limited manpower. If you want to blame us, you can. That's why we were talking about waging a social movement [to reduce road crashes and deaths]."