Marilyn Thipthorpe

From the recent devastating loss of Artists Khalid Mahmood Mithu to the loss of filmmaker Tareq Masud, Bangladesh\s roads have become a deadly place to be. These are just the high profile cases that get reported but what of the lowly commoner, who tells his story?
The Bangladesh Passengers Welfare Association reveled in a press conference at Jatiya Press Club, that in the year 2015, 8,642 cases of death and 21,855 injuries by road accidents were reported in the local dailies and publications. Of the injured, about 1,500 individuals became permanently disable while over 5-0% of them were the primary breadwinners of their family. Mozammel Hoque Chowdhury, secretary general of the organi
tion says that this statistic is only comprises of
the published news but more than 40% of
cases go unreported. A further investigation of the report shows that the annual fatality rate from road accidents is 85.6 per 10,000 vehi
According to a World Bank report on
Bangladesh, about 40% of our roads are in
poor shape leading to jams, congestion and
eventually accidents.
The National Road Safety Council (NRSC) established in 1995 and the Road Safety Cell (RSC) in 2001, say that they are doing their level best to keep accidents at bay, but the main solution lies with the drivers and pedestrians themselves.
The Road Safety Strategic Action Plan (RSSAP) has been set up with various aims to collect data and ensure a definite plan of
action in using the data to prevent accidents. Th¬e Accident Data System is one of
the nine sectors of the RSSAP whose aim is to develop a comprehensive accident and casualty database. This system is in collaboration the Microcomputer Accident Analysis Package (MAAP5), which is said to transmit data of accidents directly to the Police Headquarters on a monthly basis. An integral part of using this system is that a grid will be identified to spot problem areas. The data system however has been far from satisfactory.
Some guidelines to follow while you’re on the road: *Stay within the speed limit *Allow pedestrians and children to pass *Read the signs *Avoid drinking and driving *Stay awake while driving * Fix broken roads
Following simple steps will ensure your own safety as well as the safety of the people around you.