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Control road accidents

19 January 2004, 18:00 PM
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
By A Mawaz, Dhaka
19 January 2004, 18:00 PM
It is dismaying to find the casual attitude of the administration in tackling the daily road accidents, where the death and injury figures are mounting day by day. The situation had been prevailing for a long time, but the co-ordinated effort is not producing positive results. There are areas where things must improve immediately. The drivers must be competent. It is suspected that a very large percentage of driving licenses are fake (corrupt practice) or genuine licences are issued by the authorities against bribe. The data is not available to the public.

The same appears to be the case in regard to vehicle fitness. There are two main areas: unfit vehicles are allowed to ply; or the fitness certificate is not genuine. Here again the official position does not reflect the reality.

Then comes monitoring and prosecution. Here again corruption plays a major negative role. It is not the number of vehicles or drivers it is the enforcement of the rules without nepotism that matters. Is the traffic police staff sufficient for the phenomenal rise of road usage by mechanised vehicles increasing at an exponential rate?

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The routine operation and maintenance measures have to be ahead of the annual growth rate of infringements. Again the minister and the authorities are silent on these hot data.

Ad hoc measures and threats and fines won't solve the problems. Should the owners of vehicles be penalised also? Life is cheap in Bangladesh!