Compensation remains elusive for most road traffic victims

Thirty-two-year-old Mohiuddin Mal, a ride-sharing driver, was killed when an overloaded truck overturned and crashed onto his car in the capital’s Wari area on November 8 last year.
His family was thrust into a desperate situation, as he was the sole earner for their four-member family in Dhaka, which includes two school-going children. To survive, his wife now works as a domestic help.
Family members asked the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) for compensation from the relevant fund. They also filed a case with Wari Police Station against the trucker.
One year has passed, but the family did not get any compensation, let alone justice.
“Their [Mohiuddin’s family] world was turned upside down. I don’t know how the education expenses of his children will be managed if they don’t receive any assistance,” said Mohiuddin’s brother-in-law, Helal Uddin, who helps the family now.
Mohiuddin’s family is one of over 1,300 families who are waiting for compensation from the government fund after filing applications. Thousands others are not even aware of the fund.
Most of the families of road crashes grapple with the emotional and financial fallout of losing their loved ones, many of whom were the sole breadwinners. In some cases, the victims themselves no longer work due to life-altering injuries, including the loss of limbs.
With no compensation in sight, they face an uncertain and bleak future, struggling to make ends meet and rebuild their lives.
Considering the situation, the previous government under a law took an initiative in January last year to provide compensation to road crash victims or their family members, and a fund was also set up.
However, only 592 road crash victims or their families of 1,940 who filed applications got compensation till November 12 this year.
On the other hand, the total 22,855 were either killed or injured in 10,515 road crashes between January last year and November 12 this year, according to BRTA data. All of them are supposed to receive compensation.
Only Tk 26.35 crore was spent on compensation, although Tk 225.43 crore was still available till October 21, according to BRTA.
According to different non-government organisations, the number of road crash victims is much higher, and so the percentage of getting compensation would be much smaller.
Meanwhile, police had arrested the driver of the truck that killed Mohiuddin, but he was released on bail within a few days. Police were yet to submit a charge sheet in the case. The truck owner even managed to take back his vehicle from police custody, said Helal.
Getting justice in a road crash case is very rare in Bangladesh, although Mohiuddin’s family still believes that they would get justice.
Against this backdrop, World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is being observed today.
The day, initiated by the British charity RoadPeace in 1993 and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2005, is observed on the third Sunday every November as the appropriate acknowledgment of victims of road crashes and their families.
BRTA will hold a views-exchange meeting at its headquarters to mark the day.
COMPENSATION
Thousands lose their lives in road crashes every year, while many suffer from life-changing injuries. However, compensation was a rare concept in the country until enactment of the Road Transport Act in 2018.
Under the Motor Vehicles Ordinance-1983, which was repealed after the Road Transport Act came into force in November 2019, victims or their family members could seek compensation at the Motor Accident Claim Tribunal for death, injury, and damage to properties caused in crashes.
In rare instances, victims file petitions with the High Court seeking compensation.
As per the Road Transport Act-2018, the government formed a trustee board and set up a fund for compensating the road crash victims. This initiative was taken in January 2023 after the formulation of rules of the act.
However, compensating the victims started in October last year.
As per the rules, the family of a person killed in a road crash should get at least Tk 5 lakh in compensation. Those who lose a limb or suffer other forms of life-changing injuries get Tk 3 lakh each, while the victims who are likely to recover from injuries and return to normal life get Tk 1 lakh each.
Till November 12 this year, the trustee board received 1,940 applications seeking compensation. Of them, 1,835 were sent to the permanent inquiry committee for investigation, and the committee so far has given reports regarding 654 applications, according to BRTA.
But the authority has handed over 592 cheques (in connection with 501 deaths and 91 injuries) involving Tk 26.35 crore.
As per the rules, those seeking compensation will have to fill out a form and submit it to the trustee board chairman within a month of the road crash, with some particulars.
The chairman will form an inquiry committee within 10 days of receiving the application, and the committee will submit a report on the damage in a month, read the rules.
The board will take steps to compensate a victim within 30 working days of receiving the report.
But Helal, brother-in-law of victim Mohiuddin, said they did not get compensation even 11 months after filing an application.
“BRTA wrote to the address of Mohiuddin’s village asking us to go to its office. But we got the letter five days after the date to appear before BRTA. Then we contacted BRTA and submitted more documents around six-seven months ago, but did not get any response,” Helal said.
BRTA officials said there is a six-member permanent inquiry committee led by UNO (of the upazila concerned) to probe the crash, but delayed submission of reports from the committee is the main reason behind the delay of disposing of the applications.
“There is a bureaucratic tangle here, which is causing the delay,” a BRTA official said, wishing not to be named.
Responding to another question, he said many people are not aware of the process to get the compensation while many got discouraged to file applications due to “relatively technical and lengthy process.”
“The process should be made easier so that the victims get benefit of the initiative.”
BRTA Chairman Mohammed Yasin, also the chief of the trustee board, did not respond to our phone calls and texts.