Why so many deaths on roads?

We are used to seeing the death toll rise in road accidents during the two main Eid holidays when hundreds of thousands of people travel to their village homes. But as pointed out by a leading Bangla daily on February 12, we have been forced to witness the death of 25 people in the last 24 hours. The most horrific of these accidents is the one that occurred in Faridpur's Nagarkanda area, where a reckless bus slammed into a cylinder-carrying covered van which resulted in an explosion; the fire from that accident caused the death of 13 people. This single incident injured 33 people in total and looking at nationwide data, we have another 12 deaths on our hands over the same period.

Police data tells us that there have been 2,000 casualties due to road accidents over the last three years, but unofficial data puts the number of fatalities at more than 4,000 in the year 2016 alone! The Director of Accident Research Institute (BUET) has blamed Saturday's accident on excessive speeding. When one takes into account the reckless driving of heavy transports like buses coupled with the fact that a large majority of these drivers do not possess valid licenses, we have on our hands a recipe for disaster. 

Where the mantra remains 'time is money', getting to a destination in the shortest possible time for bus drivers translates into these buses constantly trying to overtake one another on highways, often overlooking oncoming traffic. Just because they happen to be the largest vehicles on the road means that it is the responsibility of oncoming traffic to get out of the way. What a joke! Unfortunately for the ill-fated bus in Nagarkanda that crashed into the cylinder-carrying van, we now have 13 dead and more than 30 injured. Going by the statements made by those who were lucky to survive the accident, the bus driver was speeding heavily after crossing the ferry (where the bus was stuck for an hour) and overtook 7-8 buses before hitting the covered van at high speed. As this was a head on collision that engulfed the bus in fire, passengers had to break the windows at the back to escape the deadly fire. 

Reckless speeding remains the main culprit. So what is to be done? Yes, it is understandable that there cannot be a traffic police manning every nook and corner of every highway in the country. This is where technology can and does play a part in traffic management and monitoring in other countries. Speed calculating cameras have been around for decades. Why can't we install them at critical junctures on our highways that are known to be accident-prone areas? Then errant drivers breaking the speed limits could be booked for violating the law. The data is available with the authorities. Is it not time we did something constructive that could lessen these unnecessary deaths instead of issuing lame statements about forming a probe committee that will publish some report that will gather dust on some shelf, somewhere? Is it not time that authorities start formulating a plan of action that would actually be implemented (in phases if necessary) so that these avoidable accidents do not occur in such predictable frequency. 

When we look at the information available, the major culprits may be inter-district bus drivers, but there have been instances where truckers are taking their toll on commuters. Indeed, such an incident has occurred in Rajendrapur of Gazipur district where a Rajendrapur bound truck crashed into a passenger-loaded easy bike (battery operated three-wheeler) killing three former army personnel and injuring another five. What all this points to is that a sense of impunity rules over drivers of heavy vehicles. Now why is that? Authorities have been very reluctant to take on these roaming 'death-on-wheels' because the government appears to be powerless to confront the powerful trade unions, which threaten to shut down road links every time one of their fraternity members go on an 'unintended' killing spree. 

We have even had to listen to ridiculous statements over the years from one or two very powerful people in positions of power that as long as a driver can interpret road signs, he is qualified to drive such vehicles. The sad reality is that these incidents go on happening over the years and no constructive steps are taken, either to bring the culprits to justice, or, setting up physical barriers to minimise the casualty rate. Human life is not cheap, as some would like to think. Every person who dies on the road belongs to a family. Beyond the loss of a loved one, or taking care of a seriously injured one, road accidents do not distinguish between the voiceless multitudes or the well-placed in society. Today, we sit and express sympathy and outrage at the lives lost in Faridpur or some other place. Tomorrow, it may be one of us and we would want justice. So, how many deaths will it take for authorities to wake up from their slumber and do what needs to be done?

The writer is Assistant Editor, The Daily Star.