Deaths mock road safety directives

Fate it is indeed as nothing, not even prime minister’s directives backed by those of the higher court, administration and law enforcers, seems to have any effect on the meaningless deaths on highways every day. 
At least 51 people were killed and 138 more injured in road accidents between August 21 and August 25 during the Eid-ul-Azha holidays — all due to glaring disregard for traffic rule.
In just one incident, at least 15 people were killed and over 20 injured when a bus ran into a human hauler, the driver of which was talking over his mobile phone and trying to overtake, on Rajshahi-Pabna Highway in Natore Saturday afternoon.
Police said neither the bus nor the human hauler, known as Laguna and illegal on highway, had fitness certificates.

A motorcycle carries three people, including children, without helmets in violation of traffic rule when road accidents are rising. The photo was taken at Banglamotors in the capital on Sunday. — Sony Ramany

The previous day, at least six people were killed and two others injured in a head-on collision between a bus and an auto-rickshaw following a police chase on Dhaka-Chittagong highway in Feni. 
Witnesses said police chased the auto as it was trying to cross the highway illegally. 
Besides lax implementation of traffic rules, rights activists and experts have long been blaming irresponsible attitude and greed for excessive profits for this disregard for road safety directives given by the high-ups. 
If all the stakeholders do not feel the urgency and responsibility, these directives will bring no result, says road transport and highways division secretary Md Nazrul Islam. 
The prime minister on June 25 gave directives to ensure drivers’ rest every five hours, alternative drivers for long distance transports, training facilities for drives and their assistants, use of seatbelts while travelling and going by traffic signals. 
These directives are already mentioned in Motor Vehicles Ordinance, 1983, Bangladesh Labour Act, 2009 and traffic laws while the High Court, different ministries and Dhaka Metropolitan Police already gave same directives earlier. 
Since August 1, 2015 road transport and bridges ministry imposed a ban on three-wheeler and non-motorised vehicles on 22 national highways.
The HC’s directive to the road transport ministry and the police issued on August 3, 2015 to keep unfit motor vehicles off the roads across the country was never enforced.
Home affairs ministry in 2010 in a directive put a ban on unregistered battery-run three-wheelers ‘easy bikes’.
But deaths in road accidents have since been unstoppable, proving the road safety directives ineffective. 
Mostly recently, student protests against anarchy in the road transport sector rocked the country. 
Thousands of students took the streets after two Shaheed Ramiz Uddin Cantonment College students were killed by a reckless bus in the capital on July 29. 
In the face of protests, the road ministry officials said they would take measures to ensure strict monitoring to check fatal road accidents during this Eid-ul-Azha. 
Dhaka Road Transport Owners’ Association on August 8 decided to check documents of buses before they left terminals.
On August 15, the association decided to postpone their activities ‘considering sufferings of commuters due to shortage of public transports on roads’. 
Families United against Road Accidents chairman Ekram Ahmed said directives on road safety were not being followed due to owners’ greed for excessive profit and lack of a sense of responsibility and morality. 
On one hand, the owners kept ignoring directives on rest for drivers and checking driving licences and on the other the law enforcers were not implementing the law strictly, he noted. 
There was no alternative to strict implementation of law, Ekram stressed. 
Former chairman of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority Md Ayubur Rahman Khan said the order on roads would not be restored if the authorities would not go for strict implementation of laws for a certain period. 
Deputy inspector general of the highway police Md Atiqul Islam claimed they were implementing the directives but accidents were yet taking place. 
About rest for drivers, he said the directive in this regard was yet to be brought under a penalised form detailing what action would be taken if someone drove more than five hours at a stretch. 
If they got instruction, they would work accordingly, he assured. 
Atiqul Islam claimed they had controlled about 80 per cent of illegal movement of three-wheelers on highways in the last one year and a half. 
But, these vehicles got on highways often to meet the demand of people, which was nothing but suicide, he said. 
RTHD secretary Md Nazrul Islam said that different decisions had been taken but it was not only for the RTB ministry to implement them but also other ministries, agencies and stakeholders.
A meeting of Road Transport Advisory Council is scheduled to be held today, where road accidents would be discussed, he informed. 

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net