Tragic deaths in Turag

This is true to our ranking among one of the most accident-prone countries in the world. Anything between 12000 and 15000 deaths occur annually on our highways -- easily one of the worst figures to hang our heads down on. Most of the dreadful accidents when dissected by experts are found to have been largely avoidable. The issues of erratic road engineering and bridge construction notwithstanding, the high incidence of accident is almost always attributable to man-made factors seen in their broadest spectrum.
The horrific story of a bus plunging into Turag off the Salehpur bridge in the city suburbs rakes up all the dreadful visuals of highway dangers lurking around the corner. The bus Baishakhi carrying some 50 passengers speeding in from Amin Bazar bridge alongside another vehicle attempting to overtake the latter, also in high speed, simply lost control a few steps ahead of Salehpur bridge nose-diving into 50-feet deep Turag river. This being in a spate of swirling high-velocity currents dragged the vehicle in, instantly. By one account, a burst tyre precipitated the deadly plunge. Several question arise from the tragedy. First the buses usually are in a race with each other, totally oblivious of the lack of maneuverability on the highways most of which scarcely have the space for two vehicles to pass each other by, let alone overtake. The ill-fated bus was clearly over-speeding and if one of its tyres burst, its roadworthiness was suspect. On a close scrutiny, it is almost certain to be found out that the driver was not trained, or he had a fake license, or the transport itself did not carry a proper fitness certificate. There is an almost complete lack of supervision on the highways, although we have heard of highway patrol squads having been formed.
Not long ago, the High Court had ordered installation of speed governors on vehicles but it seems alternative sophisticated options of CCTV and speed camera are being toyed with. Let there be speed and load checks on the highways without further ado. Moreover, vulnerable bridges should be identified on the basis of recorded accidents near them and danger markers set up at both ends.
A word about built-in safety pre-cautions for the buses and coaches. The regulation numbers of seats and exits and provision for space between rows of seats are tampered with, putting commercial consideration above that of safety. Many Baishakhi passengers could have perhaps escaped through the bus windows if these were not closed junkies or the rows of seats had leg-room between them for any desperate bid to escape. We need application of rules there, too.