Minimising road, railway and waterway accidents

The 2024 statistics of accidents on roads, railways and waterways, as presented by the Passenger Welfare Association of Bangladesh (PWAB), makes it clear that the safety of commuting or travelling irrespective of the modes of transportation is getting increasingly compromised. So far as road accidents are concerned, there were a total of 6,359 in 2024 showing an increase by 98 from the 6,261 in 2023. The year-to-year total deaths from accidents registered a rise by 641 from 7,902 to 8,543 and injuries by 2,236 from 10,372 to 12,608. In a country where the traffic management is in a shambles, the rise in the number of accidents and fatalities is unsurprising. Endemic corruption entrenched by influential political actors and their bureaucratic cohorts never allowed the transport sector to grow as a transparent and efficient system. When spinning unearned money from the mismanaged system has been their primary objective, they could not care less if people suffered on roads, railways or waterways. Accidents are a natural outcome of such a system left deliberately unregulated and faulty.

The latest higher incidence of road crashes on the Dhaka-Mawa Expressway is an example of how journeys on the best motorway of the country can be made hazardous. Accepted that fog was thick in the past week or so, but there are clear guidelines for drivers what to do in such poor visibility. When fog is dense, use of low beam or dipped beam headlights is recommended. If the visibility is zero, vehicles have to be parked on the safe roadside, keeping the hazard light on. But at least two accidents occurred---one at a toll plaza and another on road side when passenger buses rammed into stationary cars and a covered van from behind. If speed limits were maintained, these two accidents and consequent deaths and injuries could be avoided. Similarly if dangerous overtaking is avoided, the chances of accidents on the expressway can be ruled out.

However, there is still a possibility of accidents due to mechanical failure or a lack of drivers' skill or if they take to the steering wheel without rest or in a state of intoxication. But these are areas that collectively come under the broad system of traffic management, monitoring and supervision. Here the virus is present in the antidote. When repeatedly announced drives against ramshackle buses and other vehicles in operation are postponed, it is clear that the authorities were playing to the gallery. The interim government has also announced its action programmes to send unfit vehicles off the road. People will eagerly be waiting to see if the drive materialises.

What is true for road transportation is equally true for the water transports. Bulkheads like the locally made contraptions of vehicles such as electric three-wheelers, nasimons and karimons are a major source of transportation hazards. The Bangladesh Railway has its limitation because of the long neglect it was subjected to. But widespread corruption has also been responsible for its inefficient operation and the related accidents. Of course, a lack of awareness on the part of the public is to some extent responsible for their death. When people try to cross rail-gate even after the railroad crossing bar is down or keep walking on the tracks while they talk on their cell phones, the following accidents cannot be prevented. Similar carelessness on the part of pedestrians also results in fatal accidents. So, safety of journey primarily depends on systemic improvement and efficiency with other stake-holders lending their cooperation.