More than 30,000 people were killed in road crashes in Bangladesh in the past four and a half years. There is no sign of reduction in accidents. The number of people who were injured in such incidents is much higher. When we saw lack of holistic approach to addressing the situation, one or two specific step/s that could have been useful in reducing road accidents, remained missing. What is often blamed is reckless driving which requires proper training, motivation, healthcare and welfare support for the drivers. So, it should be made mandatory, especially for vehicle owners, to ensure that the drivers get regular health check-up facility.
They must be physically and mentally fit for running a vehicle. More than 90 per cent drivers and their assistants reportedly have eyesight problems but most of them do not see a physician. In fact, the transport workers do not go to physicians unless they are seriously ill. Many of them work for long hours -- a bad practice which is considered a major cause for road accident. Their living conditions are poor and food habit is unhealthy. If we can address health and hygiene of the drivers and their assistants, the number of road accidents will surely come down.
Tanveer Islam Pavel
Sutrapur, Dhaka
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