Deaths on roads jump by 40pc
The country witnessed a sharp rise in road accidents and deaths this year due to a huge numbers of small vehicles plying the highways and a lack of monitoring by the authorities concerned.
A total of 3,095 people were killed in 3,259 road crashes in the first seven months of this year -- over 40 percent higher than that of the same period last year, according to a police report.
Experts and road safety campaigners said higher numbers of small vehicles, including motorcycles and illegal three-wheelers, operated on the highways due to a suspension on buses and minibuses during lockdowns. This resulted in more accidents.
Besides, the government's monitoring was severely lacking, especially during the Eid rush, to prevent the road crashes, they said.
Moreover, different government initiatives to curb road crashes fell flat amid the pandemic, they added.
Concerns over road accidents and fatalities led to two major movements for road safety since July 2018.
Although, the authorities promised and undertook several steps to cut down road crashes, the recent data show those initiatives remain futile.
40 PERCENT RISE IN DEATHS
There were around 2,291 road accidents till July last year, while the number is 3,259 in the same period this year, showing a 42.25 percent rise.
As per the police report, the highest number of accidents in a single month was 543 in May this year, when the country witnessed a mad rush of home-goers centring Eid-ul-Fitr.
On the other hand, while 2,211 people were killed on roads in first seven month of last year, the number rose to 3,095 over the same months this year, meaning deaths by road crashes saw a 40 percent rise.
A total of 3,918 people were killed in 4,198 accidents in 2020, while 4,138 people were killed in 4,147 accidents in 2019, shows the police report.
However, the numbers in the report are much lower than those stated by different road safety organisations.
WHAT ARE THE REASONS?
Since operations of public transport, especially buses, trains and launches remained suspended for more than two months since April this year, when the government imposed different types of restrictions to curb the surge in Covid-19 infections and deaths amid the second wave of the pandemic.
As a result, different types of small vehicles like easy-bikes, motorcycles, private cars ruled the highways, especially during the rush ahead of the Eid-ul Fitr.
On one hand, the number of small vehicles increased in the highways, on the other hand, goods-laden vehicles continued to operate on the busy, increasing the number of collusions, which ultimately increased the number of deaths, said Prof Md Hadiuzzaman, director of Buet's Accident Research Institute, while speaking to The Daily Star on September 5.
Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity, a passenger welfare platform, on May 23 revealed data saying that although operations of long-route buses remained suspended during the Eid rush, at least 323 people were killed in 318 road crashes in 15 days.
This was the highest number of road crashes during Eid rush in the last four years, the report said.
Such a rush ahead of the Eid is very common in the country but the problem of road accidents intensified in the absence of public transport, because more people opted to travel on motorcycles or in private cars for Eid holidays, he added.
Besides, the accident prevention mechanism was not in place, he said, adding that non implementation of traffic laws, especially of the Road Transport Act-2018, are reasons behind the sharp rise.
Road safety crusader Ilias Kanchan, also the chairman of Nirapad Sarak Chai, said the number of road accidents saw a steep rise due to a phenomenal rise in the number of motorcycles since 2016, as the two-wheelers became the most accident-prone vehicle in recent times.
The number of registered bikes was 13.78 lakh till 2015, which rose to 32.58 lakh till May this year, according to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) database.
Nirapad Sarak Chai, in its road accident report published in January this year, said the rate of bike accidents were 19 percent in 2019, which rose to 27 percent last year.
Kanchon said although three-wheelers like Nosimon and Korimon have been banned on the highways, a growing number of such vehicles are being operated illegally with permission from political and influential quarters.
The High Court on July 3, 2014, banned the plying of battery-run rickshaws across the country for not running with valid licences as per the law.
A special taskforce, led by Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, in its third meeting in June this year, decided to stop battery-run rickshaws across the country, but the decision has not been implemented yet.
WHAT AUTHORITIES SAYS?
BRTA Chairman Nur Mohammad Mazumder blamed reckless driving of small vehicles amid Covid-induced suspension of buses and minibuses as the reason behind the rise in accidents.
Asked about the allegations of the lack of monitoring, he said, "We are doing our work and giving necessary directives to the stakeholders concerned to curb accidents."
However, it is difficult to stop road accidents if all stakeholders do not do their respective jobs, he told The Daily Star yesterday.
The Daily Star tried to contract Additional Inspector General of Police Mallick Faqrul Islam, the chief of Highway Police, for comments but could not reach him despite repeated attempts.
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