In search of safer roads
Road accidents are the main obstacle to making roads safer. According to several statistics, road accidents cause a large number of casualties every year. And the numbers have been alarmingly increasing year by year
When we think of safe roads, we envision a road where everyone can move freely and without fear, whether it be on foot, while crossing the road, cycling, car-motorcycle, or via any other vehicle.
Although the issues of 'Safe Road' and 'Road Accident' are contradictory and opposite in nature, it is very necessary to discuss these factors together for the purpose of general awareness. Because road accidents are the main obstacle to making roads safer. According to several statistics, road accidents cause a large number of casualties every year. And the numbers have been alarmingly increasing year by year.
One such statistic shows that in 2021, there were 5,371 road accidents across the country. The amount of damage incurred was shown to be Tk 9 thousand 631 crores. The highest number of accidents occurred in motorcycles, which was 2,214. This amounts to 38.68% of total accidents. This is followed by pedestrian deaths, which stand at 1,523. This is 24.23% of total accidents. Another statistic shows that 30% of the annual medical budget of government hospitals is spent on road accident victims alone. This is extremely worrying and alarming.
Whatever the statistics show, the real picture is far direr, because getting accurate data on road accidents is a difficult matter. Data on road accidents are generally collected from police stations. Many times, the accident victims do not complain to the police station. There are also instances where complaints are classed as confidential.
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Influential people often settle the matter outside the police station by intimidation or by force of money, as a result, the data of all these accidents are not in the police station's records. However, the available statistics that we get from the police stations on road accidents are still very agonising and painful.
We can divide the road users of our country into eight categories: (1) Pedestrian (2) Bicycle (3) Rickshaw (4) Motorcycles (5) CNG Auto Rickshaw (6) Buses/Trucks/Large Cover-vans/ and other heavy vehicles etc. (7) Minibus/Small Cover-vans/Laguna (Human Hauler) etc. and (8) Cars/Jeep (SUV)/Microbus etc.
Each of these eight classes carry a different speed value. Due to this, relatively low-speed vehicles block the way of relatively high-speed vehicles. And oftentimes, accidents are caused by high-speed vehicles trying to overtake low-speed vehicles.
To overcome this, separate and independent lanes are required for each category to keep the road accident-free and maintain a free flow of traffic. That is, a total of 16 lanes (including sidewalks) need to be constructed with eight lanes in each direction (14 lanes excluding sidewalks), which is practically impossible.
Most of the roads in our country (excluding sidewalks) are four-lane or six-lane. This forces all vehicles of the 14 lanes to drive in a lane compromise, which raises the possibility of countless accidents. Due to this lane compromise, not only do accidents occur but the total speed of the vehicle decreases, because, if there is no opportunity for overtaking (which most of the time there is not), then the slowest vehicles have to be followed by all the other higher-speed vehicles. What ends up happening is that high-speed vehicles keep trying desperately to overtake lower-speed vehicles, eventually resulting in unavoidable accidents.
Many road accidents in our country can be termed as murders instead of accidents. People die in accidents every day due to many reasons, including reckless driving, competitive driving, using mobile phones while driving, driving while distracted, driving while sick and so on.
According to the Motor Vehicle Act, reckless or dangerous driving is punishable with imprisonment for six months or a fine of Tk 500 or both. Along with this, driving licences will also be suspended for a specified period.
In this context, it may be noted that Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq has commented that the death of someone due to reckless driving by the driver will not be considered an accident. Rather, it would be considered murder. It will then be tried as per Section 302 of the Penal Code. If the killing due to reckless driving is proved, the court will be bound to give the maximum punishment i.e. death sentence or life imprisonment to the guilty as per the section aforementioned.
Regardless, reckless driving is often seen on roads and a lot of drivers have no regard for the rules. No matter how carefully you drive, another reckless driver can cause you to face an accident. That is how the hope for a safe road is lost.
Another significant cause of road accidents is drivers who either do not have a driving licence or carry a fake one. It is particularly noticeable that light vehicles in our country are run by untrained and unskilled drivers. Moreover, the helpers who are in heavy vehicles become the drivers later without being adequately qualified. They do not have the required educational qualification or valid driving licence. Due to being uneducated, their knowledge of traffic rules is also incomplete.
Lack of knowledge about traffic rules is also a significant reason for the high rate of road accidents. However, there are many driving training schools and institutes in our country where correct driving is imparted, according to the vehicle class, along with proper knowledge about traffic rules. One should not ignore the need to receive proper driving education through these institutions before applying for a valid driving licence.
According to government regulations, to get a driving licence in our country, one must get a learner or apprentice driving licence first. The minimum educational qualification of a driving licence applicant is an 8th-class pass and sound knowledge of traffic rules. Age should be a minimum of 18 years for an amateur and a minimum of 21 years for a professional driving licence. Also, the person should be mentally and physically healthy.
If this government regulation is effectively implemented i.e., "No one can drive without a valid driving licence for the respective vehicle category", the number of road accidents is bound to decrease.
AKM Lutfur Rahman is an experienced Transport Director who has worked at British High Commission, CARE Bangladesh and AISD (A US Embassy concern) and has also managed dealerships in Bangladesh inclusive of Land Rover, Volkswagen and Audi. He attained executive education in automobile engineering and fleet management from the UK under commonwealth scholarship. He can be reached at [email protected].
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.
