Road accidents in Bangladesh: An alarming issue
04 January 2023
There has been an alarming rise in road accidents in Bangladesh, significantly highway accidents, over the past several years and has become a national problem. According to Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity, at least 9,951 people were killed and 12,356 injured in 6,749 road accidents in 2022, which is the highest in the last eight years. Besides, no less than 550 people were killed and 201 injured in 606 rail-related accidents last year, while it was 357 people killed, 318 injured and 743 went missing in 262 riverine accidents during the same year. The actual rate of fatality is most likely to be even higher. Hence, the road accidents have become deadly!
According to newspaper reports published yesterday, the number of three-wheelers, especially easy-bikes and locally-made Nosimon and Korimon that started to swell since last decade, were involved in a large number of road crashes. Reportedly, the authorities had to ban the three-wheelers on 22 major highways. Sadly, yet these small vehicles continue to ply on the roads and highways and their number has increased. Such a grim picture indicates the deteriorating road safety despite the stringent road transport act that was enacted in the wake of massive students' movement for road safety in 2018. Surprisingly, people also prefer these vehicles as they do not have to wait too long for a ride.
Transport experts and road safety campaigners said that unregulated growth in vehicle numbers, particularly motorcycles and three-wheelers, are directly linked to the rise in road accidents. However, they said this is not the single reason behind the road mishaps. They blamed that reckless drivers and road users are also responsible for a higher number of road crashes. Besides, the number of vehicles is higher than the capacity of the country's road network, which results in a large number of crashes. The lack of public transport also allegedly contributes to the rise in vehicles, but the BRTA and police have failed to regulate and monitor these vehicles and enforce the laws.
For a developing country like Bangladesh, allowing its citizens to perish in road traffic accidents is not only tragic but also unacceptable! The authorities have not been able to achieve minimum tangible results so far. But how much longer will they finally take matters seriously, and solve the root of this very real problem? How many more lives must be lost in the process?
