Ensure safer roads: Bangladesh Passengers Welfare Association

Bangladesh Passengers Welfare Association has called on the authorities to ensure safer roads as thousands of people are being killed, injured, and crippled on the roads every year.

It made the call in a media statement issued on Wednesday on the occasion of the National Road Safety Day, which is to be observed on October 22.

Secretary-General of the organisation Mozammel Haque Chowdhury suggested that instead of observing the national road safety day like any other national day, there should be month-long drawing and debate competitions in schools, colleges, and universities regarding road safety to increase awareness. 

He also said discussions regarding this should be encouraged at the grassroots level. 

Mozammel added that the benefits of observing the day can be reaped if the message of safe roads is conveyed to all levels of society by highlighting its significance. 

At the same time, he demanded that the current government ensure safer roads like they promised they would before the election.
According to the Bangladesh Passengers Welfare Association, 37,170 people were killed and 82,758 injured in 26,902 road accidents in the last five years since 2015. 

Observations of these road accidents show that roads and highways developed in the past few years were not made safe due to the lack of awareness and education on safer roads. 

As a result, the number of casualties in road accidents has skyrocketed due to reckless driving and dangerous overtaking.

Bangladesh Passengers Welfare Association said that even after the implementation of the much-anticipated Road Transport Act 2018, there has not been much progress. Chaos, anarchy, and passenger harassment exist just as they did before. 

As a result, alongside passenger suffering, traffic jams and road accidents are on the rise.