'Bangladesh has highest fatality rate in road accidents'

Communication Minister Nazmul Huda yesterday said about 70 per cent drivers of different vehicles including buses, trucks and three wheelers use false license which is the major cause of road accident in the country.

He said programme would be taken soon for their training and Bangladesh Road Transport Authority has already been instructed to take an initiative in this regard.

The minister was speaking at a seminar on 'Road Security Initiative', organised by the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP), in the city yesterday.

He said steps would be taken soon regarding prohibition of movement of old and date-expired vehicles.

The minister said proper enforcement of the existing law and exemplary punishment to the offenders can bring reckless driving under control reducing deaths and disabilities.

He said he would take an initiative to include the Highway Code in the education curriculum of the country.

Presided over by M Saidur Rahman, member of CRP Trustee Board, the seminar was attended by Prof Abdullah Abu Sayeed, educationist and environmentalist, Valarie A Taylor, founder of CRP, Mohiuzzaman Quazi, senior transport engineer of World Bank and Dr Mazharul Haq, director of Accident Research Centre, BUET.

In his keynote paper, Mohiuzzaman Quazi said road accidents in Bangladesh claim on an average 4000 lives and injures 5000 others every year.

He said Bangladesh has one of the highest fatality rate in road accidents with about 73 deaths per ten thousand every year whereas this rate is bellow 5 in developed countries.

Prof Abdullah Abu Sayeed said illiteracy among the drivers is the main reason for accidents. Institutional education among the drivers would reduce the road accidents drastically, he added.

Md Abu Zahid identified Dhaka-Aricha highway as the most risky road in the country in terms of accident.

Valerie A Taylor said the CRP is more concerned about road accident which is the main cause of spinal injury resulting in paralysis.

She suggested for an updated Highway Code and urged the civil society and the media to create public awareness about road accident.