Road accidents go unabated

A man dies a day before his marriage. A father dies on his way home after seeing his son off to a distant place. An expat dies on the road on his way home to see his ailing mother. Such tragic deaths in road accidents have become a regular phenomenon in Bangladesh. As many as 8,000 people die in road accidents every year. We can fight natural disasters, but why cannot we stop such deaths caused by us humans?

Commuters’ welfare association data say as many as 7,855 people were killed in road accidents last year, recording an 8.07 per cent increase. And it looks like the number will go up in 2020 as well. This is Bangladesh’s new reality — deaths in road accidents. Years after years road accidents go unabated, as if they were inevitable. And the government hardly bats an eye.
In August 2018, students took to the street protesting the death of a fellow student. Their movement rocked the whole nation, but the authorities were indifferent. The Road Transport Act 2018 is not enough to restore order on the roads. It won’t be wrong to say that we are hostage at the hands of the transports workers and owners.