When will this insanity end?
Unsuspecting people are becoming victims of reckless bus drivers and their killing machines with sickening regularity. Only in the space of 10 days three persons fell victim to wild bus drivers who thought the streets of Dhaka were racing tracks, and consequently, Rajib and Rozina eventually succumbed to their injuries. The case of the latest victim is even more appalling. He is a car driver who was deliberately run over by the driver of a private transport company, when told to stop by the victim after the bus had hit and damaged the car.
The circumstances of all the three cases speak of a dangerous disregard for life, a tendency that can only overtake a person who feels that he is protected by impunity that serves as the order of the day. But there is also the fact that the transport sector is hogged by the mighty and the powerful in whose case the so-called long arm of the law falls lamentably short. Add to this the bane of untrained drivers, many of whom are underage, some as young as 12 if one were to believe the mayor of Dhaka South.
The atrocious sate of Dhaka traffic cannot be cured unless the sector is freed from the clutches of a powerful few, and stricter and quick disposal of cases is ensured. It is time to think also whether not only the driver but also the owner should be held culpable for accidents caused by the driver he has employed. After all, it is his responsibility to ensure both the bus and the driver meet all the criteria to be on the street.
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