Opinion: The neglected story of road crashes

Yet in another bizarre incident on the road, eight people were killed in Khagrachari as a stone-laden truck rammed a crowd that had gathered outside a Buddhist monastery to attend a funeral of a monk.

Who is the culprit this time? As in many other crashes that take away lives on the country’s roads and highways every day, it was the assistant of the driver -- commonly called a “helper”-- who was driving the heavy vehicle at the time of the incident.

I wonder if he had a valid driver’s licence or adequate training to drive a truck.

Now that he has been arrested by the police for interrogation, what happens next? If everything goes as per rules, perhaps a criminal case will be filed against him for reckless driving. 

But is that enough? What about the family members of the victims, two of whom were candidates for the ongoing SSC exam? Who will compensate them for their loss? How much are their lives worth? Can we put a price on human lives?

And yet it has to be done because it is not only about money. It’s about establishing accountability in the public transport system of the country. Most road crashes are a direct consequence of lack of order characterised by unfit vehicles, untrained drivers, carelessness of pedestrians, negligence of Traffic authority and relevant departments. What usually follows a crash reinforces the chaos, the lawlessness that prevails on the roads: the mob beats up the driver if they can catch him.

Read More: 8 killed as truck rams crowd

In some cases, the police arrest him as in the case of Khagrachari. If someone dies or gets severely injured, they may get some kind of immediate payout from the owner of the vehicle or the driver, but nothing close to their loss.

No one sues them for damages or loss. Because the idea that victims of a car crash may have the right to claim compensation from the party at fault is mostly unknown in Bangladesh, although the law -- Section 128 of the Motor Vehicle Ordinance 1983 -- has provision for it. I think it is imperative that this long-neglected law was brought to public notice so that people become aware that under this Act, not only the drivers but also owners of the vehicles and insurers are responsible as liable parties. When people know about this law, they will know that they have a means to be legally compensated for their losses.

That, experts believe, will lead to a greater accountability established for vehicle/transport company owners and insurers, who will in turn, out of their own self interest, be motivated to support and institute measures for improvement of road safety, i.e. proper driver training, more rigorous enforcement of vehicle fitness standards, requiring first party insurance for all public transport vehicles and perhaps, goodwill of political parties.