Dear Editor, Hope you are doing well and thanks for publishing my previous write ups. This is an article titled "Driving license without test?". I will be highly honoured if you publish this article. I apprecite your time to read this article. Thanks Have a nice time With Best Regards Ripan Kumar Biswas New York, U.S.A -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Driving license without test? Ripan Kumar Biswas Ripan.Biswas@yahoo.com Though I had driving experience in several countries, it took five attempts to get my driving license in New York City. In my first attempt, I failed because of rain. I didn't reduce the speed while I was making left turn. When asked why I didn't reduce speed, I replied to the examiner that I forgot to follow the speed limit during rain which is lower than the regular limit. The examiner pressed the safety brake and returned my learner permit card along with the result slip, with the remark: "Rain is the part of our life and life is precious and we may not have second chance in the roads while we drive." Motorists are almost universally required to take lessons with an approved instructor and pass a driving test before being granted a license. Almost all countries allow all adults with good vision to apply to take a driving test and, if successful, to drive on public roads. In many countries, even after passing one's driving test, new drivers may be initially subject to special restrictions. For example, in Australia, novice drivers are required to carry "provisional" plates, and are subject to alcohol limits, and other restrictions for their first two years of driving. In California, licensed drivers (ages 16) are able to drive only with a family member for the first year. While in New York, even after securing driving license, drivers must need to go through defensive driving course, vision test, drug test and many more to keep their license alive. Driving is the controlled operation and movement of a vehicle, such as a car, truck or bus. But driving in traffic is more than just knowing how to operate the mechanisms which control the vehicle. It requires knowing how to apply the rules of the road which govern safe and efficient sharing with other users. An effective driver also has an intuitive understanding of the basics of vehicle handling. As per section 03 of MV Ordinance 1983 of Bangladesh, to drive a motor vehicle in a public place every one must have driving license and to obtain a driving license one should hold a learner driving license before appearing the driving test. While a government takes oath to ensure the safety and security of its citizen, it is very hard to accept that Bangladesh Road Transport Authority is going to issue more than 24,000 new driving license without any test which has been suggested by the shipping minister Shajahan Khan, vice President of Jatio Sramik League and executive president of Bangladesh Road Transport Worker Federation. Of all the systems with which people have to deal every day, road traffic systems are the most complex and the most dangerous. Road traffic injuries are a major but neglected public health challenge that requires concerted efforts for effective and sustainable prevention. The World Health Organization (WHO) says, every year 1.2 million people die in road accidents - making it, according to WHO's 2004 calculations, the seventh biggest killer in the world, ahead of diabetes and malaria. The WHO predicted that between 2000 and 2015 road accidents would cause 20 million deaths, 200 million serious injuries, and would leave more than one billion people killed, injured, bereaved, or left to care for a victim. Projections indicate that these figures will increase by about 65% over the next 20 years unless there is new commitment to prevention. It has been estimated that, unless immediate action is taken, road deaths will rise to the fifth leading cause of death by 2030, resulting in an estimated 2.4 million fatalities per year. In most regions of the world this epidemic of road traffic injuries is still increasing. Low-income and middle-income countries have the highest burden and road traffic death rates. The problem is acute in Bangladesh, which has one of the highest fatality rates for road accidents in the world. According to official statistics, every year about 10,000 people are killed in road accidents in the country. With a rate of 0.6 deaths per km, the fatality rate on the N2 highway is 10 times higher than Britain's most persistently high risk roads. Road traffic deaths and injuries place an enormous strain on a country's health care systems and on the national economy in general. In financial terms, accidents inflict a severe damage-no less than Tk 5,000 crore annually, or about 2% of the total GDP. Road accidents in Bangladesh today have gotten to the stage where it seems that there is an epidemic. Typically the accidents are blamed mostly on engineering fault and badly maintained roads, bad weather, faulty vehicles, or disregard for traffic rules. But inexperienced drivers are the main cause of road accidents in Bangladesh. If the statistics of recent accidents in Bangladesh are checked, the major reason is always be the drivers' error. From the death of 44 school children into a pond in south-east Bangladesh to recent tragic death of two icons renowned filmmaker Tareque Masud and versatile media personnel Mishuk Munier—inexperienced, unlicensed, or uninsured driving were the main reason. While all deaths on the roads are tragic and every effort should be made to reduce the number where at all possible, how someone responsible from the government would require a huge number of driving license without any test or exam? It does not matter how much we consider ourselves that we know driving, but driving a vehicle without proper training and test must always be avoided. Reason is very simple; we are putting our own life in danger including the thousands surrounding us. Drive ability of a vehicle means the smooth delivery of power, as demanded by the driver. A driver must be able to control direction, acceleration, and deceleration. Beside technical and mechanical knowledge of the vehicle, s/he has to have the ability to make good decisions based on factors such as ongoing road and traffic conditions. The driver must consciously choose every move and his/her mind should be freed from thinking about how to drive. A driver is subjected to the laws of the jurisdiction in which s/he is driving. The rules of the road, driver licensing and vehicle registration schemes that apply vary considerably between jurisdictions, as do laws imposing criminal responsibility for negligent driving, vehicle safety inspections and compulsory insurance. A driver must not leave the scene of accident at any reason. On 11-12 May 2011, Bangladesh observed the first "United Nations Decade of Action for Road safety," along with other member countries of UN to ensure a world free of high risk roads. A MOU has been signed between Chief Engineer Roads and Highways Department and Regional Director, iRAP Asia Pacific for implementing iRAP on major highways in Bangladesh. UNESCAP will help to develop national road safety goals. Meanwhile, government is going to incorporate a chapter on road safety and road use in primary and secondary textbooks next year to raise awareness about it. No doubt, all this attempts will bring more awareness about road safety, but it will be absolutely wrongdoing if the government would issue more driving license without any test. A person with a gun may kill one or two, but a person without proper adequate driving training or test may kill hundreds or thousands. Government should not only impose rigorous test for each and every new driving license seeker, but also should introduce periodical defensive driving test, vision test and drug test to all existing driving license holders to further renew their license. Accidents can still happen, but by getting adequate driving training can reduce the probability of an accident drastically. Thursday, August 18, 2011, New York Ripan Kumar Biswas is a freelance writer based in New York |
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