Experts have called for establishing rule of law in the transport sector to ensure safe roads along with other factors like increasing educational qualification of drivers and creating mass awareness.
They also said higher educational qualifications of drivers have been meaningless due to lax law enforcement at every tier of the sector.
A recent research, jointly carried out by the Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) and Brac, found that 48 per cent of the drivers had secondary or equivalent educational qualifications against the popular perception that drivers are generally illiterate.
The PPRC surveyed 102 bus/truck drivers selected from five major terminals of Dhaka city plying on the major highway routes as well as key rent-a-car spots focusing on two important sampling criterion--- vehicle types and highway routes.
In the research, it was found that only about 8.0 per cent of the surveyed drivers were illiterate, while about 12 per cent can read and write. More than 30 per cent had primary education, 1.0 per cent SSC or equivalent educational qualification and another 1.0 per cent HSC level education.
Regarding the findings in sharp contrast to degrading road safety situation and indiscipline of the drivers, PPRC Chairman Hossain Zillur Rahman told FE that there is a common notion drivers are solely responsible for accidents, which is not correct.
There are three other major issues for the tragic accidents like absence of rule of law, infrastructural faults and lack of awareness among the people, he added.
Mr Rahman said educational qualification can hardly make the errant drivers disciplined.
Citing examples of graft prevailing in the society, he said educated people are involved in corruption.
"Could higher educational qualification change their mindset? So higher education is not the factor by which drivers will be disciplined on road, but it's the overall system and establishment of good governance", he said.
Contrary to the research findings, Nirapad Sarak Chai (We Demand Safe Road) chairman Ilias Kanchan said he has reservation on the findings about the educational qualification of drivers.
The chief of the road safety advocacy group said mostly bus/truck drivers usually learn from their 'ustads' or mentors and boys from poor families start through cleaning jobs of the vehicles to become drivers. The educational qualification shown in the research may be applicable for private car drivers.
The PPRC research shows, only 2.0 per cent of the drivers had formal training while 81.4 per cent learned informally and 16.7 per cent learned through both types of learning modes.
Mr Kanchan said there is a tendency among people in general to violate laws of the land which is mainly responsible for indiscipline on the roads. The drivers should not be blamed alone for indiscipline as they are encouraged by the educated and persons in big positions who often flout rules showing the way.
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