President Zillur Rahman yesterday emphasised proper application of traffic rules to reduce road accidents that claim precious lives everyday.
“All concerned including vehicle owners who are engaged in road transports, drivers, passengers, law enforcing agencies, licencing authorities and BRTA and road department will have to abide by the traffic and motor vehicle act,” he said.
The president was addressing a seminar on “Effective prevention needed for road accidents' held at Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban on Dhaka University campus jointly organised by the Dhaka University Alumni Association (DUAA), Saif Foundation and the Families United against Road Accident (FUARA).
Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain, Chairman of National Human Rights Commission Prof Mizanur Rahman, Vice Chancellor Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique and Adv Tarana Halim MP spoke at the seminar with DUAA President Syed Manjur-e-Elahi.
Zillur said despite creation of mass awareness about the road accidents, number of accidents has not yet declined; rather it has increased due to lack of proper implementation of rules and carelessness.
“Proper implementation of the rules will have to be enforced alongside ensuring each passenger's insurance,” he said, adding that compensation for the dead in road accidents and also life long treatment expenditures for the injured will have to be provided.
He said the communications ministry would have to take effective measures for prevention of road accidents considering the recommendations that would emerge from the seminars.
Abul Hossain said the government is relentlessly working to build safe roads and already it has set up a target to reduce the road accidents around 50 percent by 2021. The Strategic Road Safety Action Plan is being implemented to reduce 20 percent within next three years, he added.
Pointing to a horrifying figure of deaths occurred in road accidents, Prof Mizanur said according to the official data some 2,958 people are killed in road accidents every year in the country and some 324 were killed in Dhaka alone. “Eight people on an average are killed in road accidents everyday,” he said.
He suggested the government to make all highways four lanes to help reduce 60 percent of the road accidents immediately.
Prof Arefin emphasised updating of the existing traffic rules and formulating new rules. He also called for incorporating the rules into the primary education curricula to create awareness about the traffic rules in the country.
Chairperson of Saif Foundation Samia Halim and Convener of Families United against Road Accident (FUARA) Ikram Ahmed also spoke on the occasion.