Road safety continues to elude

If morning shows the day and past experience is any guide, the apprehension that road accidents will continue to claim more lives in the coming days cannot be ruled out. Neither the latest statistics about loss of lives and injuries in road accidents are indicative of a better road safety situation nor is there any chance for the situation to turn for the better as no effective measures have so far been taken to that end. The high rate of road accidents and loss of life and property last month, as reported by this paper, also depicts a shocking picture of highway safety situation.
The FE reported last week that as many as 608 persons were killed and over 1,100 injured in 621 road accidents across the country in January alone. The Road Safety Foundation (RSF) is reported to have worked out the figures based on information from national dailies, online news portals and its own data. The above statistics show that on an average about 20 persons are killed a day. Such a high prevalence of road-accident casualties has been continuing for years.
The RSF statistics present certain patterns of the road accidents and casualties. These will provide policymakers with points to ponder while chalking out informed plans if and when they pick up the issue of highway fatalities for addressing. According to the FE report, accidents linked to motorbikes were responsible for the highest number of 264 deaths, followed by 90 casualties in three-wheeler-related mishaps. Unrestricted and haphazard movement of motorbikes and auto-rickshaws and easy-bikes on highways is behind the high rates of accidents. The number of deaths can be brought down significantly through effective control of movement of these vehicles. In case of involvement of vehicles in accidents, buses and truck are responsible for about half of the road crashes. Loss of control over vehicles is one of the reasons how accidents take place. Violation of speed limit also has a role in accidents. These factors deserve to be taken into consideration while formulating strategy for road safety.
The number of deaths is not just figures or not simply the end of lives of few individuals. Such untimely and unforeseen deaths have immense financial and emotional implications at the family level and socio-economic consequences at macro level. Families suffer immeasurably in diverse ways due to loss of an earning member. It may lead to economic hardship for the families and an uncertain future for the children concerned. Injured persons have to lead a miserable life as a lifelong burden on family members. It is estimated that Bangladesh incurs a loss of at least 1.6 per cent of the GDP annually for the loss of productive hands and damage of vehicles involved in the accidents.
Given these realities of highway fatalities, road safety should get priority considerations during formulation of road communication development strategies. But clearly this vital issue has failed to get adequate attention from the authorities despite waves of strong movements for safe roads. It is hoped that the authorities concerned would take the issue seriously and swing into action to make roads safe.

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