Grave concern over alarming rise in road accidents

An alarming rise in road accidents in Dhaka city in recent times has triggered grave concern among people from all sections of the society as at least 16 people lost their valuable lives in the last four days.
Experts and road safety activists have blamed reckless driving, movement of unfit vehicles, gross violation and poor enforcement of traffic rules and regulations and lack of awareness among road users, among others, for the situation.
They have also sought immediate intervention from the relevant authorities of the government to bring discipline to roads as public tension over road safety is now at a high pitch.
According to data available with the Police Headquarters, about 1,997 road accidents occurred across the country during the January-September period of 2014 claiming 2,132 lives and causing critical injuries to 1,743 others.
Talking about the issue, DMP deputy commissioner (traffic south) Khan M Rezwan admitted the fact of growing road accidents in the capital, saying that the situation cannot improve even after an increased monitoring.
"We're trying our best to bring discipline in roads amid many limitations. We cannot do it alone. Transport owners, drivers, passengers and pedestrians should come up with cooperation in this regard," he added.
On the day when the report was being prepared, a student of the Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB), Sadi Morshed, was killed as a bus hit his motorbike at Merul Badda in Dhaka.
The issue of road safety came to spotlight again after tragic death of eminent journalist Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury in a road accident at Karwanbazar Intersection in the capital on November 29.
On the following day, the country witnessed another pathetic road accident when a student of the Islamic University in Kushtia was crushed under wheels of a passenger bus, sparking violent protests by other students. As a result, the university authority had to close the institution for an indefinite period.
On the same day, a private university student Mozammel Kanchan died after being sandwiched between two buses in Malibagh in the capital while a bus conductor, Helal Khan, died after being hit by a BRTC bus in Kalyanpur.
Actor Ilias Kanchon of the Nirapad Sarak Chai movement said the whole city is now turning into a bus station as buses stop anywhere at the drivers' wish. Even the passengers, in many cases, are forced to get down from the running buses as it happened in case of Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury.
"But, none cares about it. It's nothing but anarchy now prevailing in the transport sector. We need someone at the policy-making level to realise the gravity of the issue and do the needful on a priority basis," he said.
He said people claim that drivers' reckless driving is responsible for road mishaps but increased awareness of pedestrians and passengers is essential too. While riding vehicles, commuters should exert pressure on drivers to drive cautiously, he said.   
According to the data of the DMP Traffic Division, at least 950 pedestrians were killed in 1,102 accidents in the city since 2009.
DMP Joint Commissioner (Traffic) Mosleh Uddin Ahmed said they have received immense response from the just-concluded week-long drive against jaywalkers on Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue and also against vehicles having no fitness certificates.
"Nearly 11,000 people were fined on charge of jaywalking and almost 300 unfit vehicles were sent for dumping," he said.
When contacted, urban planning expert Architect Mobasser Hossain said strict implementation of the country's existing laws is required in this connection.
He was critical of the design of the infrastructures like flyover projects, saying that those were made without paying due attention to space for pedestrians.
He said the Jatrabari-Gulistan flyover project was implemented after demolishing a foot over-bridge on Jatrabari intersection without arranging any alternative while the Mouchak-Malibagh flyover is being built by bulldozing another key foot over-bridge on busy Moghbazar intersection in the same pattern.
"So, we're squeezing the space for movement of pedestrians, forcing them to come to the streets to meet road-based tragedies," he said.  
He said the government has launched a drive against jaywalkers although most of the foot over-bridges in the capital have been grabbed by hawkers with their makeshift shops, creating hassles for the commuters.
The BUET Accident Research Institute (ARI) has estimated the national loss at Taka 50-70 billion every year because of road accidents. Almost 30 per cent of the national healthcare budget is used for road crash victims incurring a financial loss to our economy equivalent to 2 per cent of the country's GDP.
A recent survey of the ARI reveals that 80 per cent of people who were killed in road accidents are aged 5 to 45 years and 21 per cent under 16, having impacts economically and socially. About 53 per cent of victims were pedestrians.
The capital city has a total of 54 hazardous intersections where most of the accidents occurred, it said.
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