Murderous bus kills biker

An employee of Ekattor TV was crushed to death near Jahangir gate signal in the capital city on September 29. The bus sped at high speed first knocking over a 3-wheeler auto-rickshaw and then, whilst attempting to flee the scene, hit biker Habib Rahman and then ran him over. Although the traffic police have managed to apprehend the driver, we have lost 22-year old Habib who died on the way to the hospital. We find it reprehensible that the accident occurred during the month-long traffic awareness campaign by the police and the incident has basically highlighted the fact that public transport vehicles do not give two hoots about traffic laws. By any description, this was cold-blooded murder. The new law is extremely lax that allows for maximum of five years' imprisonment for crimes like this.

Moreover, the new Road Transport Act puts the onus of rash driving on drivers themselves whilst letting off transport owners. So how can we expect any meaningful change if the transport companies are not held liable for errant drivers? Human life may be deemed to be cheap in the eyes of policymakers, but it is not. Unfortunately, syndicates hogged by people with political power and having high stakes in the transport business, dictate policies. Ensuring accountability on the roads can only happen when transport owners are bound by law to take responsibility for the actions of their murderous drivers on our busy roads. It is time the Act is amended, and stricter punishments are incorporated in it.