Mohammad Nader Hossain Bhuiyan: In 2020, the worst epidemic of this century, the coronavirus, hit Bangladesh like the whole world.  Due to this, the entire world system becomes fragile.  Corona has almost left many people dead.  We are freed from this terrible epidemic.  But when the epidemic of road accidents in the country will stop!  If we observe a little, we will see that since the arrival of Corona, everyone is constantly wearing masks to prevent the fear of death, and sanitizing hands, besides, there are many campaigns by government and private initiatives. But how aware am I or how effective is the government initiative in preventing the epidemic of road accidents?

In the middle of 2021, I saw in a report that the number of deaths due to Corona was about 6000 thousand. And just then, I noticed in another report that the number of deaths in road accidents in that year was far beyond 6000.  If we calculate the average, then it can be seen that the death rate due to road accidents was much higher than the death due to corona.  But why is this happening?  So are we not able to prevent road accidents by taking effective measures as we were afraid of Corona?

If we look at the statistics of road accident deaths in the last few years, it can be seen

 According to the statistics of the Bangladesh Passenger Welfare Association, the number of road accidents and casualties occurred in the outgoing year 2022 in the last eight years.  9 thousand 951 people were killed and 12 thousand 356 people were injured in 6 thousand 749 road accidents in the year.  Besides, 550 people were killed in 606 railway accidents during the same period.  201 people were injured.  357 people were killed, 357 were injured and 743 were missing in 262 accidents on the waterways.  In total, 10 thousand 858 people were killed and 12 thousand 875 people were injured in 7617 accidents on roads, railways, and waterways in the outgoing year.  28.59 percent of the accidents are mostly affected by motorcycles.

In 2021, 5 thousand 371 road accidents occurred across the country, 6 thousand 284 people were killed and 7 thousand 468 people were injured.  In 2021, there were 5 thousand 371 road accidents across the country.  6 thousand 284 people were killed and 7 thousand 468 people were injured in these accidents.  According to them, more than 17 people die on the roads every day.  And if public transport is shut down for 85 days out of 365 days, an average of more than 22 people die every day.

According to the information from the organization, compared to 2021, accidents increased by 27.14 percent in 2022, and fatalities increased by 22.74 percent. Compared to 2020, road accidents increased by 13 percent and deaths increased by 17 percent.

The most alarming thing is that most of these deaths are students. According to the data of the Road Safety Foundation, 803 students of various educational institutions were killed in 2021. In May of that year, the highest number of 84 students were killed in road accidents.  83 students were killed in February.  At least 53 students were killed in road accidents in June.  The majority of students were killed in motorcycle accidents.  Reckless motorcycle riding and disobedience of traffic laws by teenagers is one of the causes of death in accidents.

Most road accidents occur in big cities and highways.  Illegal vehicles—vans, rickshaws, nachimans, autorickshaws—appear to be responsible.  Slow-moving vehicles still ply the highways in violation of the law, obstructing the movement of long-haul vehicles. The local administration and the highway police do not seem to play an effective role in this regard.  As a result, pedestrians are hit by cars, hit from behind, and have various accidents.  Ignorance of traffic laws, and use of mobile phones while crossing roads, zebra crossings, underpasses, footbridges, etc. are causing accidents to pedestrians.

The government does not seem to have any stance on the daily death of working people in road accidents and the fact that it has become a national problem.  The situation seems to be that the government sees the accident as a mere accident. We constantly see after an accident that the car is not fit or the car documents or the driver`s license is not there. Many times helpers are seen driving the car. Accident Investigation Committee.  But in very few cases complete reports are available.  But the authorities are inactive about what causes accidents and how to reduce them. However, it is the constitutional responsibility and duty of the government to ensure the safety of public life and property in all cases.  With the rate of road accidents increasing day by day, becoming one of the major problems and killing people engaged in the productive sector, the government should seriously consider this issue. In 2011, in Moscow, the United Nations member countries decided to take a specific action plan to significantly reduce the number of road accidents by 2020.  Bangladesh also expresses solidarity with it. It appears that Bangladesh is limited to expressing solidarity only.  No specific plan or program has been taken to achieve the stated target.  Indifference of the government in formulating such programs to reduce road accidents is not desirable at all.

At present, road accidents are taking the form of an epidemic. To see the overall picture of road accidents and to create awareness among people, Safe Road Day is celebrated every year on October 22. But how much can we be aware of? What are the government`s efforts to make people aware of the day?  It will not be limited only to observing the day.  Its significance must be explained in front of everyone.  It must be presented to everyone as an epidemic worse than Corona.  Otherwise, all the efforts of the day will be in vain.

So if we don`t take well-planned steps now, the problem can be more serious. To prevent road accidents, first of all, we have to control the transport system. Care must be taken to ensure that unlicensed vehicles do not enter the road.  Along with this, appropriate training should be arranged to increase the driver`s skills. Along with this, the driving license should be arranged by the government initiative for drivers who have received appropriate training. At present, a complication has arisen in getting the license. According to most of the drivers, they have to suffer a lot to get a driving license and have to spend more money than the prescribed amount. So many people are afraid to get a license. So they need to make good arrangements so that they can get the license in a healthy and beautiful environment. Before issuing the license, the driver`s dope must be done.  Tests should be done so that no drug addict can get a license. In addition, the road perimeter should be increased according to the transport. The city`s town service buses park everywhere in the name of picking up passengers. This creates a bottleneck in the communication system. Therefore, they should be given a specific parking space. The sidewalk hawkers should be kept free as well as the traffic.  The system should be enriched, along with modern traffic system should be developed. It should be observed that the specific speed limit given according to the location on the highway is being followed properly. Above all, there is no substitute for awareness to prevent road accidents. Therefore, everyone should be fully aware of this matter.

 In addition to including the cause and prevention of road accidents in the curriculum of all classes, the media should conduct maximum awareness activities on this issue. With the combined efforts of all, Bangladesh will be a road accident-free Bangladesh one day.

Author: Mohammad Nader Hossain Bhuiyan is a student and columnist. He can be reached at hnaderhossain@gmail.com