Unfit vehicles galore
The number of road accidents in Bangladesh is one of the highest in the world and these are mostly caused by unfit vehicles plying the roads and highways. By knowingly allowing unfit vehicles to operate, because 75 percent commercial vehicles plying the roads are faulty and not road-worthy, the authorities are acquiescing to the large number of crashes and avoidable casualties on the roads. The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), the body responsible for issuing fitness certificates and driving licenses, is hopelessly unfit itself to perform its functions due to a lack of both facilities and manpower. The data speaks for itself. BRTA is able to service up to 25 vehicles a day where the current demand is for over 100 vehicles of all sizes and it is for this reason corruption runs rampant where unfit vehicles suddenly become fit in the eyes of the law.
These facts cannot be taken lightly. In a country where illiterate drivers who can and do somehow manage to get licenses to operate vehicles, including heavy and light public transports, it is quite natural for so many accidents to take place in the country. We simply cannot treat this matter casually and unless the government takes constructive steps to upgrade BRTA facilities in terms of physical infrastructure, facilities and manpower urgently, fatalities on our roads will only increase. Failure to address these shortcomings would open up the possibility of the administration being justifiably held responsible for road mishaps that are causing so many thousands to perish and to be maimed every year.
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