Road accidents
Friday, 21 March 2008
THE available statistics of road accidents in Bangladesh are not very accurate but whatever statistical information are available point to a high rate of the same.
The first area of prevention must be improvement of the enforcement of traffic laws. The traffic police department must be motivated to apply the rules with an eye for catching the offenders such as vehicles that overload, engage in speeding or the ones who do not maintain their vehicles. The rules must be enforced specially on the highways by highway police doing their work extensively, regularly and effectively. A branch of the police, for maintaining vigil over the highways, went into operation from last year. But it suffers from many deficiencies and it continues to be business as usual for the offenders even after it came into existence. Therefore, the first task is to revamp the activities and operations of the highway police.
The training of drivers ought to be under rigorous inspection. Drivers are known to get their licenses too easily in Bangladesh through bribery. This practice must be put to an end as also the irregularities in certifying vehicles as fit for movement in exchange of bribes. The physical conditions of the roads, their paving and repairs, need to be ensured. The mass media ought to regularly campaign to make all conscious to prevent and avoid road accidents. Capital punishment for reckless driving should be reintroduced for its deterrent value.
The present government can, perhaps, take up the issue of road accidents in its agenda for priority action and set the stage for safer road conditions and fewer accidents.
Sohail Imran
Gulshan, Dhaka
The first area of prevention must be improvement of the enforcement of traffic laws. The traffic police department must be motivated to apply the rules with an eye for catching the offenders such as vehicles that overload, engage in speeding or the ones who do not maintain their vehicles. The rules must be enforced specially on the highways by highway police doing their work extensively, regularly and effectively. A branch of the police, for maintaining vigil over the highways, went into operation from last year. But it suffers from many deficiencies and it continues to be business as usual for the offenders even after it came into existence. Therefore, the first task is to revamp the activities and operations of the highway police.
The training of drivers ought to be under rigorous inspection. Drivers are known to get their licenses too easily in Bangladesh through bribery. This practice must be put to an end as also the irregularities in certifying vehicles as fit for movement in exchange of bribes. The physical conditions of the roads, their paving and repairs, need to be ensured. The mass media ought to regularly campaign to make all conscious to prevent and avoid road accidents. Capital punishment for reckless driving should be reintroduced for its deterrent value.
The present government can, perhaps, take up the issue of road accidents in its agenda for priority action and set the stage for safer road conditions and fewer accidents.
Sohail Imran
Gulshan, Dhaka