If the number of working people is more than the number of dependent people, then it is called population bonus or demographic dividend. Bangladesh is proud of its demographic dividend. Road accidents are hurting more in this place of pride. Analyzing the police database, ARI says that in the last one decade, 54 per cent of the people killed in road and highway accidents in the country are between the ages of 18 and 40. And 18 percent of the people killed in the accident are children. They are under 15 years of age.
According to the World Health Organization's latest report on road accidents in 2016, 1.3 million people die each year in road accidents worldwide. 30 percent of them are under 25 years of age. Road accidents are one of the leading causes of death among young people in the world. According to the report, 25,000 people are killed in road accidents in Bangladesh every year.
At the national level, huge accidents were reported in road accidents. But it is difficult to calculate how much an accident can ruin a family. On the way home after the funeral of his father at Chakaria in Cox's Bazar on 8th February, a pickup crushed all the members of the family. Five brothers died on the spot. Another seriously injured brother was undergoing treatment at Raktim Sushil Hospital. He also died last Tuesday. The youngest of the six brothers killed by the Sushil family was 29 years old. The biggest incomparable Sushil is 47 years old. Everyone is married. There are also children.
BUET ARI director. Hadiuzzaman told Prothom Alo that if the number of casualties in the current year is the same as the previous year, the financial loss will increase due to the increase in per capita income. Accidents and deaths are increasing in the country every year. As a result, it is difficult to say where the damage is. He said that after calculating the financial loss of road accidents, it has been seen that if the loss of life on the road could be reduced by 70 per cent, with the addition that would be added to the economy, one Padma bridge could be built every year.
National loss
Officially, the primary source of information on road accidents in Bangladesh is the Bangladesh Police. According to the police, BUET's ARI calculated the damage caused by the road accident.
ARI says there were 3,204 road accidents last year. 3 thousand 6 people have lost their lives in these accidents. 4 thousand 108 people were injured. Accident casualties and socio-economic losses to their families, including medical expenses, amounted to about Rs 36,044 crore last year, equivalent to 1.44 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).
The number of road accidents in 2020 was 3,064. 3,558 people were killed and 4,450 injured in these accidents. About 32,006 crore rupees was lost in road accidents that year, which is equivalent to 1.20 percent of GDP.
According to ARI researchers and police sources, due to the Corona epidemic in the last two years, public transport in the country was closed for about one and a half days. In addition, there were restrictions. As a result, the calculation of the number of road accidents and the amount of damage in these two years would have increased even more if it had been normal.
The total number of road accidents in the country in 2019 is 3 thousand 938. That year, 4,358 people died and 6,240 were injured in accidents. The country's economy has lost about 36,096 crore taka, which is equivalent to 1.46 percent of GDP.
There is a big difference between the number of road accidents and the official data on the number of deaths as different non-governmental organizations. According to the Road Safety Foundation, 6,264 people died in road accidents in 2021. 5,431 people died in 2020. Experts believe that if the additional casualties are taken into account, the amount of national damage in road accidents will increase further.
Loss of person
A study published by the Department of Roads and Highways (RHD) in 2016 found that the loss of life of a working person in a road accident caused a loss of Tk 24.72 lakh. However, other issues such as financial stress, loss of workplace and other issues of the victim's family were not taken into account.
The Department of Health and the Center for Injury Prevention and Research Bangladesh (CIPRB) jointly conducted a survey in 2016. According to the survey, about three and a half lakh people are injured in road accidents in Bangladesh every year. More than 9 thousand are injured in a day. About 60,000 people are disabled in road accidents every year. Of these, more than 12,000 are children under 18 years of age. As it is seen, every day 220 people are disabled in road accidents.
Under Bangladeshi law, there is very little evidence of punishment for loss of life in a road accident. No insurance. As a result, an accident is enough to upset any family. Under the previous motor vehicle law, if someone died in a road accident, there was a provision of compensation of Tk 20,000. The government has implemented the new road transport law in 2019. It mentions the formation of a financial fund to assist the victims of road accidents. But so far the government has not formed that fund.
In 2020, the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) drafted the Rules of the Road Transport Act. It outlines an outline of financial fund formation. However, the government has not yet approved the draft. According to the draft rules, if someone is injured in a road accident, he will get compensation of three lakh rupees. The family of the deceased will get five lakh rupees. Apart from government grants and vehicle owners' dues, various fines collected under the Roads Act, grants from transport owners' and workers' organizations, and money received from any other legitimate source can be taken into the financial fund.
BRTA chairman Noor Mohammad Majumder told Prothom Alo that a board of trustees has been formed to pay compensation. Of this, Tk 100 crore has been demanded from the government. Once the rules are issued, other activities will be intensified.
Regarding the loss of life in road accidents, the BRTA chairman said that all the drivers, owners and pedestrians have a responsibility to reduce the number of accidents. Law enforcement agencies also have an important role to play. It is not possible for BRTA alone to reduce accidents unless all stakeholders work together.
According to the report of the research institute and expert opinion, there are several reasons behind road accidents in the country. These are reckless drivers, speeding, faulty vehicles and roads. Apart from this, the salaries and working hours of the drivers are not fixed; Low-speed traffic on highways; Tendency to reckless motorcycling; The tendency of the public not to know and disobey traffic laws; Poor traffic management and extortion in the public transport sector.
The allocation in the national budget for the development of road communication has increased steadily in the last one decade. At this time new roads were built and old roads were widened. The government has also passed a road law in the face of student movement demanding safer roads. But the reality is that road deaths are not diminishing.
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