ROAD ACCIDENT IN BANGLADESH: AN ALARMING ISSUE

road accident in bangladesh essay

Over the last several years, there has been an alarming increase in road accidents in Bangladesh, particularly highway accidents. According to research done by BUET's Accident Research Centre (ARC), vehicle accidents kill an estimated 12,000 lives each year and injure around 35,000 people. According to World Bank figures, the yearly death rate from road accidents is 85.6 per 10,000 cars. As a result, Bangladesh's roadways have become dangerous!

road accident in bangladesh paragraph

However, as devastating as these figures are, they fail to capture the societal tragedy associated with each person lost in a traffic accident. One disaster that sticks out in my mind is the killing of 44 schoolchildren a few years ago when the vehicle they were in skidded and went into a pond. Forty-four youthful aspirations and expectations were dashed as a result of careless driving. Only a month after this tragedy, Bangladesh lost two bright people, Tareq Masud, a filmmaker, and Mishuk Munier, a journalist, in another car accident in August. We, the people, were horrified and outraged, and many took to the streets to demand quick action to bring justice to those who had died and assure road safety. On July 29, 2018, a series of continuing public rallies in Bangladesh demanding greater road safety started. They were spurred by the deaths of two high school students in Dhaka who were hit by a bus driven by an unlicensed driver who was racing another bus to pick up passengers. The event prompted students to demand safer roads and more substantial driving restrictions, and the protests quickly expanded throughout Bangladesh. However, as seen by the statements mentioned at the outset from a daily newspaper, the most current mortality data show no improvement!

article on road accident in bangladesh

One of the reasons contributing to the increased number of road accidents is the rapid rise of urbanization and motorization. According to recent research, Bangladesh's annual urban growth rate was 4% in 2010, whereas the current growth rate in motor cars is 8%. As a result, road infrastructures are suffering increased congestion, physical degradation, and safety issues. According to a World Bank estimate, just 40% of the principal highways (National Highways and Zila Roads) are excellent. 

The traffic police department plays an essential role in detecting and holding irresponsible driving, speeding, and unstable or overloaded vehicles accountable. The maintenance, repair, and expansion of roads, as well as the installation of dividers on national highways, warning signals for hazardous locations, disseminating information on driving and road safety to the masses through the media, and exemplary punishment for violating traffic laws, are some of the main areas that the government must work on rigorously.

As citizens, we must also play a part in maintaining road safety. Passengers using public transportation should protest and demand that bus and taxi drivers stop speeding and driving recklessly. Vehicle owners should guarantee that their drivers have valid licenses, are adequately taught, and drive responsibly. Community leaders may help promote road safety by educating pedestrians, particularly youngsters, within their communities.

An accurate estimate of the economic cost of lives lost in traffic accidents in Bangladesh would undoubtedly reveal a significant loss of GDP contribution. According to the World Health Organization, the financial cost of road accidents to developing nations is between 2% and 3% of GDP. The question occurs to me: how many physicians, engineers, scientists, inventors, and other future potential has the country lost due to those 44 and many other youngsters who died in traffic accidents over the years? 

Allowing its citizens to die in traffic accidents in a developing nation like Bangladesh is heartbreaking and unacceptable!