#safestreets

blackfolksrock

With all due respect, I, a student and citizen of Bangladesh want to draw your attention. Our country is in major trouble in want of justice, safer roads and transportation. It started in July 29, 2018. 2 school going students were killed by a bus due to reckless driving The students started protesting right on that day near that bus stand. We have lost a lot of people in road accidents before. According to the statistics given by Dhaka tribune, 7397 people were killed due to road accidents in Bangladesh in 2017. Most of them were students. All of this riled up an awareness and also agitation among the students for which the protests and movements spread countrywide in two days. The whole country started protesting by blocking the roads. The school, college and university going students started checking the driving license and fitness papers of all vehicles indiscriminately. Most drivers did not have license and fitness papers of the car. So we made sure that unless someone licensed was there to drive, the car could not leave. Still 3 more students died in road accidents on July 30, 2018. The movement took a much larger form in July 31, 2018. The students blocked the busiest roads and streets of Dhaka and other major cities. As a result, it created a huge ruckus in the country. So the police, on that very day, attacked on the students and baton charged on them. From the next day, the angry students were more in number and the movement started in full flow. The junior students of schools and colleges started protesting in streets, brought out decent processions with different slogans, mainly saying “we want justice”, which is the motto of the whole protest. The students made a nine point demand to the government, which is as follows:

1) The driver should receive capital punishment and provision for such punishment should be incorporated into the existing law. 2) Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan must withdraw his statement and apologize to the students and resign from his posts immediately. 3) Construction of a foot over-bridge or alternative arrangement to ensure safety for students movement at the spot of the accident; construction must start within 7 days. 4) Setting up speed breakers in every accident prone road. 5) The government has to take responsibility for the students who were injured in road accidents. 6) All intra-city buses must stop and pick up students. 7) Students should be allowed to pay discounted fares in every part of the country including Dhaka. 8) Vehicles must not be allowed on the streets without fitness certificates and drivers must not drive without licenses and updated paperwork. 9) No bus can take additional passengers.

The government did verbally confess about accepting the demands of ours and started the construction works of the roads. but, the reckless driving of the bus drivers did not deteriorate by an inch or so. Rather two accidents took place in between the protest days, on friday and saturday, when the students were not on the roads. The victim lies in the hospital bed fighting a critical situation. Yet, more students have died for this movement and due to road accidents. One of the protesters was intentionally run over by a moving pickup truck on July 31, 2018 only because the driver did not want to show his license or get caught for not having it. These reckless and ruthless drivers are not being punished. The students have also caught high government officials without license, which made the government more aggressive towards the innocent protest of the students. Now, the government is sending its private goons of BSL (Bangladesh Students League) and the police. The movements were peaceful and the processions were completely non-violent, yet the students were attacked by the aforementioned people for wanting to do the right thing. Students were injured in some major parts of Dhaka city from August 1, 2018 to August 4, 2018. Along with inflicting injuries , on August 2, 2018 and on August 4, 2018 many girls were sexually assaulted and many of the students were injured by the government people, (THE BSL) and afterwards it was hard that a group of four girls were taken to the areal office of BSL and were sexually harassed while some pointed that they were raped. The question that was asked by the mass was, if girls were raped then who were they? What was their identity? These were left unanswerable and the police traded that the issue about abducting girls and boys to the Jhigatola office was merely a rumor. Some mentioned that some of these girls were raped then killed with hammer blows and thrown into Dhanmondi lake.

*One girl was raped in an area named Shantinagar *A boy's eyes were clawed out *A lot of school girls still remain missing including 3.

Besides the reporters and the camera man of different local channels were harmed and camera's were taken drown of destroyed to remove any proof that could establish the truth. "What scares them so much that they do these?” The students have been injured severely in various places all over the country. Only a few somehow survived the attacks and lived to share the story. We are trying our best to make the stories viral and share it with media, but now the government has put enough effort in shutting the media down against itself. A lot of girls are still trapped inside the government offices and other places. They are going to be raped soon most probably. There is no media coverage being done on this massacre. A dead body of a female student has been found in in Dhanmondi’s lake with obvious signs of sexual assault. News have now spread that the Students League will come out again at dead of night to capture random students from their homes and kill them or rape them.

Dear Friends of Safe Streets & Vision Zero,

Happy National Bike Month to all -- below are a few advocacy items that may be of interest:

* IMPORTANT: Connecticut DOT Active Transportation Plan Meetings THIS WEEK -- May 19 & 20

Please consider joining these online public input meetings on May 19-20 and advocating for more resources for active transportation infrastructure and safe streets policies. 

Click here for more info.

* Distracted Driving Law Passes CT General Assembly -- Thanks to Everyone For Their Advocacy!

A modest but important improvement to work zone safety and distracted driving statutes (Senate Bill 484) just passed the state legislature. Call the Governor's office (800-406-1527) and ask him to sign the bill into law.

Click here for more info.

* Free Bus Passes for Students Passes CT Legislature -- Call the Governor to Make Sure He Signs The Legislation Into Law!

Great news for public transit! Free bus passes for students and seniors passed the legislature thanks to tremendous and inspiring advocacy by New Haven Climate Movement and the Tickets to Opportunity campaign.

Call the Governor's office (800-406-1527) and make sure he signs the two public transportation funding bills (SB-9 and SB-477) into law. Contact Jay Stange (917-601-3165) of New Haven Coalition for Active Transportation (NCAT) with questions.

Link: https://www.ctinsider.com/news/education/article/ct-high-school-students-free-public-bus-rides-22247469.php

* Pro-Safety 'Super Speeders' Law Incorporated into New York State Budget 'Agreement'

New York State is leading the way on super-speeder legislation, a priority of Families for Safe Streets nationally. How do we organize to bring it to Connecticut next year?

Link: https://www.amny.com/news/state-budget-super-speeders-auto-insurance-bills/

* Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Sign-On Letter Re: E-Bikes -- Does Your Org Want to be Added?

This is another sign-on letter being circulated by the League of American Bicyclists about the independence of the CPSC, which regulates what is considered an "e-bike" under federal law. Organizations (not individuals) are invited to join the letter as co-signers. 

Link:

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Well, I think that's it for now. Hope you're having a great Bike Month and thanks for your tremendous advocacy and support!

Aaron G.