Death on the road has become our fait accompli

Road accidents have become endemic to our system—so much so that news of mishaps and people getting killed in these incidents are considered commonplace. Nothing, regrettably, has been done to make roads safer and stem the ever-increasing procession of deaths due to road accidents.

There has been a quantum jump, both in the number of accidents as well as casualties therefrom. Maybe some statistics would help put the matter in perspective. According to a report in this newspaper quoting the police, 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. Meanwhile, according to data by Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity, in the last three years, 64 people were killed while over 150 people were injured in road accidents every day on average across the country.

While we talk of casualties, we overlook the people who are injured. In fact, more than 90,000 people have been injured in the last three years. And no one knows how many from that number have joined the list of disabled.

Just compare the Covid-19 deaths with road accident casualties. According to WHO, in Bangladesh, between January 3, 2020 and December 3, 2021, there have been 27,986 deaths due to Covid—an average of 1,400 per year. But while we have an antidote for Covid, nothing of the kind is on offer to cure the malady that has taken an endemic form in this country.

There are long-term as well as short-term measures that can be adopted to address the issue, as pointed out by the students who have, once again, taken to the streets to urge the authorities to act urgently.

However, neither these pleas nor the alarming statistics seem to move the authorities. Despite repeated promises, the roads continue to remain unsafe. Strict control measures are woefully lacking. The road safety law is in hibernation, being a victim of pressure by the transport owners and workers. And the two have the strongest political clout. Unless we take a holistic approach and purge the sector from political control, there is very little chance that the situation will improve.