Appoint drivers on regular basis

Nirapad Sarak Chai, a road safety advocacy group, blamed contractual employment of bus drivers for road accidents.
“Bus owners employ drivers on contractual basis fixing an income target for them rather than appointing them on regular basis. These drivers then take on extra passengers to meet the owners' demand or hurry on their way, which often result in accidents,” the organisation's Chairman Ilias Kanchan told the press yesterday.
The group organised the press conference at Dhaka Reporters' Unity in the city to announce its awareness programmes in the wake of the recent deaths of media personality Mishuk Munier and filmmaker Tareque Masud.
On Wednesday, the group placed their 14-point demand to the communications minister.
“We've set October 21 as the deadline to meet our demands. If the ministry fails to address those, we will go for a day-long token hunger strike programme the next day,” said Ilias Kanchan.
The demands included providing driving licence only to those who have at least passed SSC, reinstallation of certain sections of Penal Code to ensuring harsher punishment and compensation, and reform of the Motor Vehicle Act.
They also asked for bringing the bus drivers and staffs under regular pay scale.
The organisation also urged the government to announce October 22 as the National Road Safety Day through a gazette notification.