Yet more deaths in road accidents `
Not a week goes by when we are not bombarded with the news of yet more deaths in road accidents. On Friday, five people were killed, including four members of a family, when a bus collided with a pick-up van at in Fakirhat upazila. Three others were injured and remain in critical condition. With the death toll from accidents rising with each passing day, are we to assume that human lives are so dispensable in this country that no amount of deaths and maiming of people will move us to implement effective measures to reduce traffic fatalities?
Unfit vehicles, driven by reckless drivers without licenses or fake licenses, continue to ply our roads, putting people's lives at risk. Hardly ever are the drivers responsible for the deathly accidents brought to book; even on the rare occasions when they are caught, they get out on bail or through bribes and resume their reckless driving.
If we are serious about minimising road accidents, we need to change our attitude of "rules are made to be broken" both on an institutional and individual level. We have to address the issue of licenses and vehicle witnesses, end the lack of oversight and culture of impunity enjoyed by reckless drivers, and conduct highway patrolling to keep our roads under constant monitoring.
In addition, we need an accessible legal framework through which victims and their families can press for compensation from drivers responsible for the accidents. Besides, owners of companies who employ such unfit
drivers should also be held responsible.
Comments