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Old spectres keep haunting Ctg roads

455 accidents kill 414 across district in last U months, reveals Passenger Welfare Association report

Arun Bikash Dey, ctg
Because of reckless driving, unfit vehicles, a messy traffic and road management, and jaywalking, 455 road accidents occurred across Chittagong district in the last 11 months till November-end, killing 414 people and injuring 1,979, says a monitoring report.
Pedestrians and transport workers make up the majority of the casualties. The report of the Passenger Welfare Association of Bangladesh (PWAB) shows that of the deceased and injured, 154 were pedestrians and 143 were drivers and their assistants.
The figures have been collated from reports of at least four local and 10 national dailies between January 1 and November 30.
Based on the information, PWAB
named Sitakunda as the most accident-prone area, and identified reckless driving of buses and microbuses as the main reason behind accidents at Patiya, Chandanaish,
Lohagara, and Chakaria on Chittagong-Cox's Bazar highway.
Around 15 to 20 accidents occur every month in Sitakunda, which is double the number of crashes taking place in the rest of Chittagong, said Mozammel Haque Chowdhury, secretary general of PWAB.
He told The Daily Star that batteryrun auto-rickshaws were a major contributor to accidents but these were underreported in media.
“Battery-run auto-rickshaws cause 27 to 35 accidents a day," he said, adding that in the 11 months, over a thousand people were critically injured or maimed in the crashes caused by these vehicles, mostly illegal.
The highest 64 accidents occurred in September, killing 52 and wounding 316, making it the most fatal month. March saw the lowest number of accidents—27, but February marked the lowest number of casualties-13 deaths and 66 injuries—in 28 accidents.
PWAB also identified a lack of pedestrian crossings and footbridges, separate lanes based on vehicle speeds, and awareness among pedestrians as other reasons.
"We urge the authorities to build zebra crossings and footbridges in the city, go tough on reckless driving and unlicensed drivers, and raise public awareness,” said Mozammel Haque.
"We will place our recommendations at the forthcoming meeting of Jatiya Sarak Nirapatta Council.”
In order to curb accidents, drivers should be trained through institutes, said Ilias Kanchan, a safe road activist and Chairman ofNirapad Sarak Chai.
"In most cases, novices learn driving from their seniors, but this is not the proper way," he said. "These drivers also get licences. The practice must stop."
Apart from the drivers, he said, those who are liable for faulty road construction and those who give fitness certificates to unfit vehicles must be brought to book.
Shafiqul Islam, deputy inspector general of police, Chittagong zone, told The Daily Star that their teams regularly counselled drivers on safe practices at different terminals.
Pointing out that transport workers make up a significant portion of the casualties, the official said, "By showing instances, we try to get the drivers understand how terribly a family suffers when a member is killed or injured in an accident."
Regarding reckless driving, he said, "There is no speedometer on our highways.... highway police cannot work properly for lacking logistics."
Chittagong city Mayor M Manjur Alam said there were six footbridges in the city but pedestrians were reluctant to use those. "People should use the prevailing facilities." He added, "If the traffic department (of police) provides us a list of spots that need zebra crossings, the city corporation will build them within a week."