Editorial
Under-aged drivers
Stop them from operating
IT is extremely disquieting to learn that on an average 28 accidents take place in the city every day. And what is of particular worry is that under-aged drivers of public transport are responsible for most of the accidents. The Dhaka Metropolitan Police is reported to have launched a special drive against these under-aged drivers and arrested 14 of them on Saturday.
The drive is no doubt a move in the right direction, one that should have been thought of and launched long ago. It is no secret that boyish faces at the wheel, mostly in the minibuses, cause a lot of anxiety to both the commuters and pedestrians. They never go by traffic rules and speed control and other safety measures are things unknown to them. Many lives were lost as these boy-drivers engaged in mad race for overtaking each other. They are often found to be unable to control the heavy vehicles and accidents cannot be avoided.
Commuters and pedestrians remain exposed to grave dangers when untrained, young drivers, usually conductors promoted overnight, take charge of big vehicles. Now the question is, what have these law enforcers been doing all these years? Even the grisliest of accidents could not prompt them to take some kind of corrective measure. Mini buses, the biggest menace on the Dhaka roads, are still terrorizing pedestrians with their highly dangerous movements. And all this has been happening under the very nose of the law enforcers. It is not known why the errant boys playing with the lives of citizens could not be stopped from doing so. Nevertheless, we welcome the belated realisation of the law enforcers that under-aged drivers cannot be allowed to operate.
The reasons behind traffic chaos and accidents are indeed numerous. The law enforcers themselves have admitted that 70 per cent of the licences carried by the drivers are fake. That brings the BRTA in the dock. One may ask why those with fake licence could not be brought to book in the past. It is obvious that the under-aged drivers only added to the already existing anomalies. The law enforcers including the BRTA in particular should wake up to their failings and lapses and make amends.
The under-aged drivers are one of the many symptoms of the traffic system functioning well below expectations. This situation must be overcome in a comprehensive way.
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