<i>Road accidents on rise in Ctg</i>
50 killed in 12 mishaps in two and a half months
Trucks are seen in competition, posing a serious threat of accidents at Customs Intersection in the city, left, while a city service bus in such a competition smashed a microbus, right, leaving five people of a family dead on August 12.Photo: STAR
Loss of lives in road accidents marked a sharp rise with at least 22 people were killed in four accidents within a span of four days since August 11 in the port city and Chittagong district. Reckless driving, lack of awareness among the drivers, poor traffic management and absence of stern measures against violators of traffic rules were blamed for such road accidents. At least 50 people were killed in 12 accidents in the city and district in the last two and a half months since June 8 while many of such road crashes remained unreported, sources said. Of them, 31 were killed in five most grisly accidents that took place on Bhatiari Link Road, Customs intersection in the city, Sitakunda, Pahartali city gate and at Mirer Sarai on August 11, 12, 13 and 15 and on July 14, sources added. In all these cases, the drivers excepting one responsible for Sitakunda accident have managed to flee, said the sources. “Cases are filed in connection with the road mishaps only to be withdrawn later with the accused settling the matter giving a very little compensation to the victim's family,” said Assistant Director Sheikh Ataullah of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA). In some cases police discourage filing of cases for road accidents for bribe from both the accused and the plaintiff in the name of negotiating the matter, said transport owner Maruf Hussain citing an instance involving his transport. Lack of mobile courts and monitoring encourages drivers to run vehicles without legal documents or fitness certificates to cause more accidents, said the passengers and pedestrians. Rashedul Hasan, a bus passenger, said, “Mobile courts are rarely seen. Only Chittagong Port Authority Magistrate Munir Chowdhury occasionally conducts some mobile courts.” Munir Chowdhury said he sent some 150 people in jail in one year and fined many vehicles for reckless driving. The mobile courts and punishments also helped check reckless driving and bring down the number of accidents to some extent, he said. He said, “Though the city dwellers welcomed the drive it could not be continued due to agitation by the transport workers and owners as well as the pressure from the political high-ups favouring them.” Holding the carelessness and mind-set of the accused drivers responsible for the accidents, he said, “You would not find any fault in documents and certificates that show the drivers are competent and skilled as well as the vehicles are fit.” He said that the only way to check the road accidents was to ensure punishment to the culprit drivers as per law. He said some changes are needed in the Motor Vehicle Ordinance 1983 to check reckless driving. Munir Chowdhury said the maximum penalty up to Tk 5000 is very negligible to streamline reckless driving. But six months to one year's imprisonment of a poor driver was sufficient to make the drivers alert, he added. He underscored the need for proper monitoring of the cases to ensure punishment of the accused drivers. He said at least four magistrates, including one for conducting mobile courts against reckless driving and faulty vehicles for a maximum of one year, can help improve the situation a lot. Ataullah said, “Our drivers are not well trained and very often care a little about the safety of the passengers or pedestrians. Sometimes, they leave the steering wheels to their helpers or assistants that cause accidents.” He said creating awareness among the passengers, pedestrians and drivers is needed to avoid accidents. He said BRTA conducts mobile inspections with the help of police and takes action against the drivers and vehicles having faulty documents. Mohammad Sarwar Hossain said lack of road dividers and islands also encouraged the drivers to overtake each other, causing accidents. Assistant Commissioner (Traffic) of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) Mohammad Iltutmish underscored the need for bringing in changes in the process of issuing licence for improving skill of the drivers. He suggested orientation programmes for the drivers at least for three days before handing over licences to them.
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