Drivers kill, owners enable

As road crashes and deaths continue to surge in Bangladesh, despite all efforts by the authorities, one particular party that seems to be eluding the police dragnet is the vehicle owners. Often drivers are the only ones deemed culpable for crashes, while their employers are left untouched. While drivers in most cases are the obvious suspects, it's the owners who have the important job to ensure that their vehicles are roadworthy, necessary documents are updated, and there are eligible drivers behind the steering wheels—which they often fail to do.

As per the BRTA data, as of last month, 508,000 registered vehicles eligible for fitness tests have not renewed their documents. Meanwhile, at least one million registered vehicles are being driven by unlicensed drivers on the roads. As per the Road Transport Act (RTA), 2018, if a vehicle does not have updated documents, its owner would also be made responsible for any accidents involving the vehicle. Unfortunately, this is but one of many parts of the act that are yet to be properly implemented.

The pickup van that recently took the lives of six brothers in Chakaria of Cox's Bazar has been found to be faulty, with its papers expired three years ago. Earlier, on November 29, 2021, a bus killed an SSC examinee in Dhaka's Rampura area. Its driver was arrested soon afterwards and is now in jail. But why is the owner still living freely, given that the bus, reportedly, neither had a route permit nor an updated tax token? Similarly, the driver in the Chakaria case is in jail, while the vehicle's owner is reportedly on the run. Given that the responsibility of owners in cases of road crashes are acknowledged in the RTA, why are they not being held to account? Unfortunately, vehicle owners are often influential and politically connected people, making them immune to any fallout from their crimes or the lack of responsibility.

This can't be the norm if we truly want to prevent road crashes. We can't continue to grant undue concessions to the influential vehicle owners and transport associations. As per police data, at least 5,088 people were killed in 5,472 road crashes in 2021. This shows the urgency of immediate interventions from the relevant authorities. The government must properly and evenly enforce the road safety law to bring some semblance of order to our chaotic transport sector, and stop the march of deaths on our roads.