Wearing seat belts
Wednesday, 3 November 2010
Traffic police department have been warning commuters in the city to fasten seat belts mandatorily from November 01, failing which they would be fined.
But in what way fastening seat belts is going to help to get rid of the main concern in traffic movement these days which is traffic jam? Surely, seat belts have nothing to do with getting rid of the jams which is the main source of torments for the residents of the city.
Perhaps, the traffic police have the safety of the travelling people in mind. But over 90 per cent of the residents of the city use rickshaws, buses, CNG three-wheelers, mini cabs, tempos, etc. These vehicles are not fitted out with seat belts for people to wear. So, are the traffic police taking so much trouble for the safety of only 10 per cent of travelling people? Or is the measure designed for only 10 per cent of the rich in the city who have private cars. Either way, it makes no sense.
Everyone also knows that most accidents occur on highways from speeding, overtaking, etc. So if the seat belt fastening rule has to be enforced, its best application can be on highways and not in the jammed city roads where speeds remain low and all categories of vehicles are obliged to move slowly anyway minimizing the risks of accidents.
If the traffic police wish to earn a good name for sincerity, they should start with their own soul searching. They should ask questions to themselves about why they detain traffic movement irrationally at intersections with manual signaling, allow buses to stop at undesignated points on roads, allow unauthorised and reckless parking on roads, take resort to accepting graft bribes from traffic rule offenders, turn a blind eye to overloaded transports, etc. These are the sorts of things that create traffic jams and other traffic movement-related problems.
It is silly indeed to think that traffic conditions can improve from wearing seat belts.
Kazi Anwaruddin Ahmed
Bangladesh Bank,
Dhaka.
But in what way fastening seat belts is going to help to get rid of the main concern in traffic movement these days which is traffic jam? Surely, seat belts have nothing to do with getting rid of the jams which is the main source of torments for the residents of the city.
Perhaps, the traffic police have the safety of the travelling people in mind. But over 90 per cent of the residents of the city use rickshaws, buses, CNG three-wheelers, mini cabs, tempos, etc. These vehicles are not fitted out with seat belts for people to wear. So, are the traffic police taking so much trouble for the safety of only 10 per cent of travelling people? Or is the measure designed for only 10 per cent of the rich in the city who have private cars. Either way, it makes no sense.
Everyone also knows that most accidents occur on highways from speeding, overtaking, etc. So if the seat belt fastening rule has to be enforced, its best application can be on highways and not in the jammed city roads where speeds remain low and all categories of vehicles are obliged to move slowly anyway minimizing the risks of accidents.
If the traffic police wish to earn a good name for sincerity, they should start with their own soul searching. They should ask questions to themselves about why they detain traffic movement irrationally at intersections with manual signaling, allow buses to stop at undesignated points on roads, allow unauthorised and reckless parking on roads, take resort to accepting graft bribes from traffic rule offenders, turn a blind eye to overloaded transports, etc. These are the sorts of things that create traffic jams and other traffic movement-related problems.
It is silly indeed to think that traffic conditions can improve from wearing seat belts.
Kazi Anwaruddin Ahmed
Bangladesh Bank,
Dhaka.