Driver didn't have proper licence, truck was overloaded: probe report

The truck that ploughed through multiple vehicles and left 14 people dead in Jhalakathi on April 17 was overloaded and was being driven by someone who did not have a licence to operate heavy vehicles.
These were among eight potential causes for the deadly accident identified in a probe report submitted by a five-member committee.
The committee headed by Additional District Magistrate Shajia Afroz submitted its report on April 23, Deputy Commissioner Faarah Gul Nijhum told The Daily Star today.
The committee stated in the report that the accident might have been caused by the truck's high speed. According to the report, "The driver was not capable of driving a truck because he had a licence for light-vehicles."
The report placed the blame on the poorly designed toll plaza and its wrong location. Another factor in the accident is that there is no system in place to regulate the speed of cars approaching from the bridge towards the toll collection area.
Meanwhile, the committee has included fifteen recommendations in the investigation report to help prevent similar mishaps in the future.
It was advised that at least 10 metres of space be left on both sides of the road during construction, and that roads next to ponds, ditches, canals, or other bodies of water be adequately secured.
Furthermore, the committee has suggested expanding the area in front of the toll plaza by two to four times the width of the road.
In addition, the report recommended taking appropriate legal action against all illegal vehicles operating on public roads, as well as their drivers, and making sure that all drivers of vehicles operating on the road possess valid driver's licences.
At least 14 people were killed and several others injured after a truck ploughed through several vehicles in Gabkhan Bridge area of Jhalakathi's Sadar upazila on April 17.
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