Unfit vehicles plying the streets

The photo of a dilapidated vehicle published in this paper on 24th July beggars belief. The jalopy that is carrying passengers on the road of the capital as well as the inaction of the police and the agencies that are supposed to enforce road safety have shocked us. These transports are a risk to their passengers, not to mention the pedestrians and the ordinary people who happen to be at the immediate vicinity of these vehicles. These are potential weapons of mass murder. 

Vehicles are not supposed to be allowed to hit the road without a fitness certificate. There are instances where we have seen cars impounded and fined for not doing their fitness on time. Would we be remiss to ask how such unfit transports as the one in the picture, are allowed to run with impunity? The problem is all the more pronounced on the highways, where ramshackle and unfit bus and lorries are one of the biggest contributors to accidents. It is a small wonder that Bangladesh has one of the highest rates of deaths during travel, which some researches put as high as 24,000 a year.

The blame, we believe, primarily lies with the transport owners who rampantly flout laws and indulge in such malpractices with the connivance of some of the officials of the concerned departments. We urge the government to arm the traffic police with effective surveillance and monitoring devices. On top of it all, it is crucial to purge the reckless attitude of people working in this sector by instilling a sense of accountability across the board.