THAT pedestrians continue to constitute the largest group of road accident victims warrants special attention and specific measures are needed to protect them. In February, at least 114 pedestrians died in road accidents. In a road accident on March 10, a pedestrian died and another was seriously injured when a covered van ran over them at Banani in Dhaka. Both of them were apparel workers. The incident sparked protests and apparel workers blocked the Airport Road and the elevated expressway at Chairmanbari of Banani. While road conditions remain as dangerous as ever, rendering the authorities鈥� limited efforts to improve safety ineffective, an alarming number of pedestrian deaths is especially concerning. Road safety experts attribute the high number of pedestrian casualties in road accidents to issues such as reckless driving, lack of awareness among pedestrians, faulty roads and a lack of footpath and footbridges. When reckless driving is found to be a major reason for all road accidents, a lack of awareness and a sense of desperation among pedestrians make things worse.
In cities and, even, areas outside the cities, pedestrians often show a complete disregard for personal safety, disinclination to using footbridges even when there is a footbridge nearby and try to cross even highways, where vehicles usually travel at high speed, casually and carelessly. The lack of footpaths is another major reason pedestrians fall victims to road accidents. Most city roads do not have footpaths and there is an acute shortage of footbridges. For example, the Rampura crossing, one of the busiest in the capital where connecting roads and two U-loops make the zebra crossing in front of the Hatirjheel metropolitan police check point particularly dangerous for pedestrians, does not have a footbridge. Despite multiple pedestrian fatalities at this crossing, it still lacks a footbridge. Reckless driving remains the biggest threat to lives of pedestrians. Many drivers, including motorcyclists, show little concern for pedestrian safety. A lax enforcement of the Road Transport Act 2018, enacted after a nationwide student movement for road safety, is believed to contribute to the rising number of road accidents. Road accidents claim about 20 lives every day in Bangladesh. In February, at least 578 people died and 1,327 became injured in 596 accidents.
The authorities should take a holistic approach to ensuring road safety. Alongside running awareness campaigns and enforcing strict measures to educate pedestrians in road safety, the government should stringently enforce the Road Transport Act. Additionally, addressing critical issues such as unskilled and rash driving, unfit vehicles and defective road infrastructure is essential to reducing road accidents.