Road accidents: who are to blame?
Thursday, 23 July 2009
Mirza Md. Adwit Rahman
On July 16, I was returning home when I heard the news of the death of a Medical College student at the Shahbag crossing. After reaching home I met my father, an eyewitness of the accident. He told me that the body of the student was lying close to the footpath. The head was crushed under the wheels of a running bus but the rest of the body was intact. It seemed that the student was about to get on the footpath when the bus hit him.
This was not, however, the first time when anyone had been killed at this crossing. This happens rather too frequently. I am a student of Dhaka University. I have to cross the Shahbag crossing daily. While crossing the road, I find passers-by running through the road, ignoring traffic signals. They are always in a hurry. I have tried to restrain some from taking this risk on several occasions. But I found no one ever paid any heed to my suggestions; rather, I got angry look from them. Frustrated, I no longer give any one any suggestion about road safety.
People always blame reckless driving for road accidents. I also used to do so. But now I have realised that we, the passers-by, are to be blamed also for the accidents on many occasions. We are prone to go on a rampage in the streets after every road accident but cannot change our habit and be patient enough to follow traffic signals or use the foot over-bridge.
On the other hand, reckless driving is a common crime not only in Dhaka city but also throughout Bangladesh. The drivers hardly bother to observe traffic rules. For example, there is a wide white straight line on the road which is not supposed to be crossed by the vehicles when the traffic signal shows the red light. This rule is violated with impunity.
It is though quite possible to bring discipline on the road and avert accidents, particularly fatal ones. Both the drivers of vehicles and the pedestrians can be motivated and compelled to strictly follow traffic rules and regulations. For example, the pedestrians who did not use the foot over-bridge and crossed the road on Kazi Nazrul Islam Road were used to be fined a few years ago. No driver is found violating traffic signals and rules in the cantonment areas.
Finally, the authorities are at fault both on account of their failure in developing proper physical facilities for vehicular and pedestrian movements and applying traffic rules and regulations. Whenever a fatal road accident takes place at the Shahbag crossing, the authorities make a promise to build a multi-lane foot over-bridge at the Shahbag crossing. The promise is yet to be fulfilled. Foot over-bridges should in fact be constructed at all busy and accident-prone places.
The authorities, drivers and the pedestrians all should join together in establishing better discipline on the road and thus save life.
(The writer is a student of the Department of English, Dhaka University)
On July 16, I was returning home when I heard the news of the death of a Medical College student at the Shahbag crossing. After reaching home I met my father, an eyewitness of the accident. He told me that the body of the student was lying close to the footpath. The head was crushed under the wheels of a running bus but the rest of the body was intact. It seemed that the student was about to get on the footpath when the bus hit him.
This was not, however, the first time when anyone had been killed at this crossing. This happens rather too frequently. I am a student of Dhaka University. I have to cross the Shahbag crossing daily. While crossing the road, I find passers-by running through the road, ignoring traffic signals. They are always in a hurry. I have tried to restrain some from taking this risk on several occasions. But I found no one ever paid any heed to my suggestions; rather, I got angry look from them. Frustrated, I no longer give any one any suggestion about road safety.
People always blame reckless driving for road accidents. I also used to do so. But now I have realised that we, the passers-by, are to be blamed also for the accidents on many occasions. We are prone to go on a rampage in the streets after every road accident but cannot change our habit and be patient enough to follow traffic signals or use the foot over-bridge.
On the other hand, reckless driving is a common crime not only in Dhaka city but also throughout Bangladesh. The drivers hardly bother to observe traffic rules. For example, there is a wide white straight line on the road which is not supposed to be crossed by the vehicles when the traffic signal shows the red light. This rule is violated with impunity.
It is though quite possible to bring discipline on the road and avert accidents, particularly fatal ones. Both the drivers of vehicles and the pedestrians can be motivated and compelled to strictly follow traffic rules and regulations. For example, the pedestrians who did not use the foot over-bridge and crossed the road on Kazi Nazrul Islam Road were used to be fined a few years ago. No driver is found violating traffic signals and rules in the cantonment areas.
Finally, the authorities are at fault both on account of their failure in developing proper physical facilities for vehicular and pedestrian movements and applying traffic rules and regulations. Whenever a fatal road accident takes place at the Shahbag crossing, the authorities make a promise to build a multi-lane foot over-bridge at the Shahbag crossing. The promise is yet to be fulfilled. Foot over-bridges should in fact be constructed at all busy and accident-prone places.
The authorities, drivers and the pedestrians all should join together in establishing better discipline on the road and thus save life.
(The writer is a student of the Department of English, Dhaka University)