Few would dispute the fact that transport sector is a major area where anarchy reigns supreme. And it is, possibly, also only one area where the government hardly dares take action against wrongdoers. The transport minister does often try to put up a brave face, but the fact remains that his ministry is more amenable to suggestions coming from the muscle-flexing transport workers and, to a great extent, the transport owners.
The observations might sound rash to some, particularly those who are sympathetic towards the transport lobby. But the observations that are made out of ground realities might prove to be true soon when the draft of a new motor vehicle act would be placed before the cabinet for approval.
It has been a long-standing demand of the transport experts and civil society members to make the punishment tougher for transport drivers found guilty of taking lives on the streets and highways due to rash driving.
An outdated piece of legislation, called, the Motor Vehicle ACT of 1939, was in operation until 1983 when Motor Vehicle Ordinance was promulgated replacing the old act. Some newer provisions were incorporated to make the law time-befitting. A provision in the Ordinance provided for a maximum punishment of 14 years in prison for causing fatal accidents on roads due to rash driving. Â
However, coming under pressure from the road transport owners and workers, the duration of the prison sentence was later reduced to only three years. But that soft provision is also not used usually. The police can hardly keep the drivers responsible for fatal road accidents in custody. The offenders are set free or granted bail under pressure from the all-powerful transport workers' unions. The transport owners do always take side with their workers. In fact, both have a symbiotic relationship, each protecting the other whenever such a need arises.
 But following the death of some high-profile individuals in road accidents and the increase in frequency of accidents on highways and in the face of persistent demand from the media and civil society members, the government initiated a move to prepare a new road transport act in 2010. A draft of the new act, formulated with technical assistance from the World Bank (WB) in 2011, reinstated the old prison sentence for 10 years with an added provision of pecuniary punishment. A committee reviewed the draft in 2013 and reduced the prison sentence to 5 years. But it suggested making the offence of killing people by rash driving a non-bailable one. But all these have been dropped from the latest draft of the proposed act and three years' prison sentence has been reportedly incorporated into the final draft. The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) has sent the draft to its parent ministry where all the recommendations would be reviewed before the finalisation of the draft act.
But it is almost certain that any stringent provision designed to punish the transport workers and owners, guilty of committing grave offence, would not get a place in the proposed law. The transport lobby is too powerful, particularly when a powerful section in the government is backing it with all its might.
None would contest the fact there is no dearth of laws and rules in this country and what is seriously lacking is their enforcement. The transport sector is an area where laws are least enforced and a culture of condoning violations of traffic rules and discipline is very much existent. All these have made the transport workers, particularly the drivers of passenger buses and trucks, to be even more defiant. However, the outcome of the neglect is very much evident in the streets and highways. On an average, 10 to 12 people are killed daily across the country due to rash driving. There was a time when trucks had been involved in most fatal road accidents. The situation has changed in recent times. Now passenger buses have taken over the role.
That the transport workers and owners are very powerful and they give a damn to what the media say. That they dictate the terms are very much evident on the streets of Dhaka and on highways. The way the buses are operated in violation of traffic rules all the time, services of poor quality offered to passengers and terms dictated by bus owners on the government during negotiations over passenger fares does speak of a rotten situation in the country's transport sector. The transport workers and owners do also have muscle power and enough of resources to share with persons who matter most in the decision-making process. Moreover, a section of people involved in traffic management are allegedly involved in transport business. In such a situation, it is hard to straighten things up.
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Road transport act: Old wine in new bottle?
Shamsul Huq Zahid | Published: August 08, 2016 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
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