October 22 was the National Road Safety Day and we cannot help but wonder how road safety can be ensured when the country has only 109 motor vehicle inspectors to check and give fitness clearances to the lakhs of vehicles that need inspection. Last year, these handful of inspectors gave fitness clearances to some 7.5 lakh vehicles—an inhuman task for sure. If that was not bad enough, they had to give most of the clearances manually, as the BRTA has only one digital machine for the tests.

It is nearly impossible to check the fitness of vehicles without digital machines—especially the workings of key features like headlights, brakes, and speed capabilities—and checking vehicles manually greatly compromises safety, according to experts. To add to that, none of the BRTA offices around the country have any permanent and dedicated venues to arrange driving tests. Which means, they have to hire venues for free or use classrooms and playgrounds of educational institutions. How have things come to this? After so many years since the BRTA was established, how does the organisation lack the most basic elements required for it to function, let alone function effectively? And how, then, is it supposed to ensure road safety?

The amount of apathy and lethargy with which the government has worked to equip the BRTA to handle important tasks such as granting fitness licences for vehicles and licences to drivers is shocking! No wonder we have hundreds of vehicles plying the road that actually belong in the scrapyard. No wonder we have drivers who have no business driving any vehicle whatsoever without getting much more extensive training.

We have repeatedly asked the government to extend the capacity of the BRTA in these columns over the years. And it is disappointing to know that in the last 8 years, the BRTA only managed to recruit a total of 19 people, and among them only one vehicle inspector. If things continue down this path, we are afraid that road safety will never be ensured, and thousands of people will continue to lose their lives or limbs through road accidents as a result. However, these road accidents would be completely avoidable if the government would just make the BRTA more effective.