Mass awareness is a must for ensuring road safety

Although the modern transportation system has reduced travel times significantly, it has also increased the chance of fatalities. With the increased number of motor vehicles and intricate road networks, road crashes have become a massive problem in Bangladesh. 

Road safety refers to planning and developing strategies to keep people safe while using the roads. Road users include pedestrians, bicycle riders, rickshaw pullers, and public transportation users. The leading causes of road crashes in Bangladesh range from careless driving to overspeeding, overtaking, violating traffic laws, long-time driving without a break, and using drugs and alcohol while driving. 

A severe lack of awareness among the people is another reason behind road accidents in Bangladesh. Unregulated movement of non-motorised vehicles and motorised vehicles on the same route is another significant cause of road crashes. 

Lack of awareness and reckless driving also results in frequent crashes, claiming lives and causing anguish and grief to the affected families. Because of all these reasons and many more, road safety education is as essential as any other basic survival techniques. 

Public awareness on a mass level, regular training for drivers and developing necessary infrastructure are the prime prerequisites for alleviating the chances of road crashes. There is no other practical way to reduce traffic crashes than increasing public awareness. 

Road crashes have adverse impacts on a huge number of road users in the country each year. Preventing road accidents can include broadening public awareness and stringent enforcement of traffic laws. The authority must also ensure that the drivers follow the rules strictly. 

Passengers of motor vehicles also need to keep road safety in mind and be cautious about obeying traffic laws. No one should drive without following the speed limits and maintaining all safety precautions.

The concept of road safety should be adopted as a holistic approach. If drivers, helpers, members of law enforcement agencies and pedestrians obey traffic rules properly in fulfilling their duties on their respective parts, the rate of road accidents will decrease significantly. 

Sometimes, the passengers also insist drivers use the wrong lane. In busy cities like Dhaka, people try to get on buses risking their lives. Motor owners ask drivers of their vehicles to drive as fast as possible to make more trips. Sometimes the passengers ask drivers to move faster to reach a destination quickly. 

There have also been cases of underage driving, which the owners should stop. Cases are not rare in which owners force drivers to work beyond working hours, which entails a high risk of crashes, primarily because of sleep deprivation. 

Road crashes are identified as one of the major obstacles to sustainable development in Bangladesh. Notable fatality and injury rates on Bangladesh's roads are undermining the remarkable progress that the country has made in boosting economic growth and reducing poverty in recent years. 

For that reason, improving road safety is vital to Bangladesh's national health, well-being, and economic growth, because road crash fatalities and injuries predominantly affect the youth and the working-age population in Bangladesh. 

Consequently, countries like Bangladesh could significantly increase economic growth and national income with long-term reductions in crash fatalities and injuries, while also seeing significant improvements in public well-being. 

The simultaneous exposure of children to traffic crashes undercuts efforts to enhance children's health and educational outcomes, which are crucial factors in human capital development.

Bangladesh has considerable potential to improve its road safety performance over the coming decade, and signs of progress are already there. The Road Transport Act 2018, approved in October 2018, replaces the Motor Vehicle Ordinance of 1983 and the Road Transport Rules, published in 2022. 

The 9th National Road Safety Strategic Action Plan 2021-2024 is crucial for ensuring road safety. This action plan has retained ten individual sectors to address road safety issues in Bangladesh. 

The sectors are (i) Planning, Management and Co-Ordination of Road Safety; (ii) Road Traffic Crash Data System; (iii) Road Safety Engineering; (iv) Road and Traffic Legislation; (v) Traffic Enforcement; (vi) Driver Training and Testing; (vii) Vehicle Safety; (viii) Road Safety Education and Publicity, (ix) Medical Services for Road Traffic Crash  Victims and (x) Digital Technology. 

Bangladesh also has aligned with the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030. This plan has a vision of achieving a 50 per cent reduction in road crash fatalities. However, significant scopes exist to improvise the country's strategic and legislative response concerning vehicle safety, road user safety regulations, and post-crash response services.

The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority and the government are taking up driver's education programs and public awareness campaigns to avoid many of the crashes that usually occur. The fundamental aim is to provide critical behavioural risk factors for road safety to the citizens of Bangladesh to encourage safer behaviour while using the road, among current and prospective road users. 

We hope to reduce the number of people killed and injured on our roads yearly. Along with the Bangladesh government, different non-government organisations like Dhaka Ahsania Mission, BRAC, National Heart Foundation, Center for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh and many more are working to ensure road safety.

Nur Mohammad Mazumder is the Chairman of the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA).

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.