Rash Driving: Free rein, no regulation

Deaths due to reckless driving on Dhaka streets will continue as long as drivers enjoy a free rein on the streets, said Prof Moazzem Hossain, a former director of the Accident Research Institute (ARI) of Buet.

As a rule, the Airport Road -- the city's arterial road with high density commercial and residential areas on both sides – should have a footbridge every half a kilometre as safe passage for pedestrians, he said, while referring to the tragic deaths of two young students at the Zia Colony intersection as a consequence of a recklessly driven bus.

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Presently, a nearly six kilometre stretch of Airport Road from Zia Colony to the airport intersection has five footbridges -- only half of the standard requirement.

Apart from that, Hossain said that training and efficiency of passenger bus drivers were crucial for public safety. But the reality was that bus drivers in Bangladesh were actually under no regulation.

“This is a dreadful situation of total anarchy on the city streets. Bus drivers enjoy a free rein; human life is lost every other day in [displays of] blatant rowdiness with no remedial measures,” he said.

“All the caution and safety   measures voiced by experts time and again have all fallen on deaf ears.”

There is apparently no one to fix the situation, he said, adding that despite buses being the most trusted public transport mode all over the world, it was exactly the opposite here.

“A city with such anarchy in the public transportation system cannot function,” he said.

“We from the ARI have suggested solutions to this situation and conveyed the set of suggestions to the Prime Minister's office.”

He said authorities had to pay attention to the technical solutions suggested by experts to bring about discipline and accountability in the city's transport system and that the situation would never change if they were interested only in mega projects.