It is good to note that the government has taken up a Tk 4,988.14 crore mega project for building capacity of the government agencies concerned to ensure road safety. The project titled "Bangladesh Road Safety" has already got approval from the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec). Reportedly, the government has set a target to bring down the death rate in road accidents to 13 per lakh by 2025. We have come to know that the project, aiming at reducing casualties and damage due to accidents, will be implemented from May 2023 to June 2028.
Almost every day we are bombarded with reports of grisly road mishaps, deaths and injuries. Though too many lives are being lost on roads every day, the reasons for the accidents are not being investigated with due importance. After every incident of road crash we hear pledges of taking effective measures from the authorities concerned but the issue falls into oblivion within a few days which is why the procession of deaths on the roads never stops.
The government should take
more severe steps in ensuring
punishment of the drivers who
do not follow the traffic rules
In order to ensure road safety for all, the design and quality of the roads and highways must be improved; unfit vehicles should not be allowed on the roads and there should be mass awareness on traffic rules. So many lives are being lost on our roads every day, and it is time the government put all-out efforts to bring some order on the road. The government must take stern actions against reckless driving. Also, unskilled drivers of vehicles, most often not having a legal licence, should be identified and punished.
We should devise immediate measures to improve the current road safety issues, such as examining driver’s skill and vehicle fitness, discouraging reckless driving, improving the traffic police control system and ensuring more cooperation between the drivers and owners. Also, transport owners should scrutinise the driving skill of the drivers before recruiting. Last but not least, the government should take more severe steps in ensuring punishment of the drivers who do not follow the traffic rules.
