Sunday, January 7, 2018

https://dailyasianage.com/news/102655/road-accident-scenario-in-bangladesh

Road accident scenario in Bangladesh

M S Siddiqui

Land transport is poplar due to quick communication and transportation of goods and people. It has
created revolution in contemporary economic and social relations. The surface Road transport
systems have become a crucial component of modernity. There has been a continued increase in
the shares of passengers and freights carried by road compared to rail and water; currently over
75% of passenger and nearly 70% of freight is carried by road transport. Despite many opportunities
the land transportation has some challenges. One of those is road accident. In developing countries
the situation is made worse by rapid and unplanned urbanization.

It has been predicted that between the year 2000 and 2020, without increased efforts, the number of
road traffic deaths in high-income countries will decrease by approximately 30%; yet in low- and
middle-income countries the number is expected to increase by over 80% (Kopits 2003; Peden
2004). Road traffic injuries are likely to become the third leading cause of a global burden of disease
and injury by 2020 if further action is not taken (Peden 2004).

Although Bangladesh is one of the lowest motorised countries in the world, it has, however, the
worst road fatality rates in world. The estimated number of road traffic accident fatalities per 10,000
on road motor vehicle for Bangladesh is very high by international standards, as the fatality rates for
motorized countries is usually less than 2 (2 in the United States of America and 1.4 in the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland).

"A Review Of Global Road Accident Fatalities" conducted by Jacobs and Thomas showed that the
Bangladesh has one of the highest fatality rates in road accidents, over 40 deaths per 10,000
registered motor vehicles (Jacobs et al, 2000).Road traffic injuries alone cause a loss of about 2% of
GDP in Bangladesh. It is more than the total development assistance received and thereby hindering
our national economic growth.

Roads of Bangladesh are extremely crowded, particularly in the cities, with bicycles, rickshaws,
three-wheeled mini-taxis (CNGs), cars, overloaded buses, and trucks all vying for road space and
right of way. Roads, including most major highways, are poorly maintained and often lack safe
shoulders, have numerous potholes, sharp drop-offs, and barriers that are not sign-posted. Speed
limits and other traffic laws are not commonly posted and are rarely observed by motorists in any
case.

Bangladesh has about 2 million motorized and non-motorized vehicles. It is one of the fasted
growing economies in the world. Naturally demand for vehicle is very high. At the current growth the
number of vehicles in the country is expected to be double in the next ten years. In terms of vehicle
ownership, Bangladesh has one of the highest fatality rate internationally, over 100 deaths per
10,000 motor vehicles.
The principal contributing factors of accidents are adverse roadway roadside environment, poor
detailed design of junctions and road sections, excessive speeding, overloading, dangerous
overtaking, reckless driving, carelessness of road users, failure to obey mandatory traffic
regulations, variety of vehicle characteristics and defects in vehicles and conflicting use of roads.
Others include a low level of awareness of the safety problems, inadequate and unsatisfactory
education, safety rules and regulations and traffic law enforcement and sanctions.

The urban junctions are location of 40% accident. In Dhaka nearly 52% of all accidents occurred at
only 9% of the total 200 intersections. In the rural areas about 43% of reported National Highway
accidents occurred in only 5% length of National Highways. Most accidents on highways occur near
market areas and intersections. Local roads crisscross the highways making the intersections
accident prone zones.

Roadside shops, especially the ones on corners are obstructing visibility. These characteristics
clearly demonstrate that accidents are preventable with relatively lower investment at targeted and
site specific locations of the roads. There are some 227 black spots in highways are identified as
most accident prone. Though most accidents occur on the highways, it is not the case that the entire
length of the highway is accident-prone.

Bangladesh is referred in global statistics while discuss the road accident in global literature.
Bangladesh Road Transport Authority's (BRTA) Annual Report of Road Traffic Accidents on the
basis of reported data on road traffic accidents from Bangladesh Police. The records of Police is
seriously under reported of actual situation people are habitually not go to Police station to report
such incidences. Road accident analysis shows that vulnerable road users are pedestrians, bicycle
& motorcycle riders and public vehicle passengers.

Of the accident victims, about 45% are pedestrians, followed by passengers of light vehicles (19%)
and motor-cyclists/3 wheelers (16%). Not surprisingly accident types confirm these findings: 42% of
accidents are 'hit-and-run', 19% are head-on collisions and 13% due to over-turned vehicles.

Power Participation Research Centre (PPRC), a research think tank analysed the accident in 2014
shows that, bulk of the accidents were concentrated within a total length of only 54.7 kilometres of
the highway network. At least 8,642 people were killed and 21,855 others injured in about 6,581
road accidents that occurred across Bangladesh in 2015.The statistics of motor crush come out
some direction of the accidents. Nearly 70% of road fatalities occurred on rural sections of the main
highways as the metropolitan cities accounted for only about 20%.

The number of reported traffic fatalities increased nearly four times over the last 25 years, 1982-
2007. Road traffic accidents injure 400,000 people a year and kill approximately 18,500. WHO
estimates that the actual fatalities could well be 20,038 each year (WHO, 2009). A survey by Centre
for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB) found that 19% of hospital beds in
Bangladesh hospitals are occupied by people who have sustained an injury through a road traffic
accident.

National Committee to Protect Shipping, Roads and Railways (NCPSRR), an organisation

campaigning for safety in the transport sector, said in a report that at least 2,297 people were killed
and 5,480 injured in road accidents in the last six months (2017), a sharp rise in the death toll
compared to the same period last year. NCPSRR observed that the casualties in road mishaps has
increased by 18.35% and the number of accidents increased by 8.6%. The report was prepared on
the basis of reports in 22 national and 10 regional dailies and eight online news portals and news
agencies.
Another key concern is the belief that few victims and there is hardly any legal solution and financial
compensation for the victims, especially the poor. A recent survey of 84,000 Bangladeshi
households found 1% of fatal/seriously injured to have received insurance compensation.

A recent study in Bangladesh found that 21% of road traffic deaths occurred to household heads
among non-poor people versus 32% among poor people. Three quarters of all poor families who had
lost a member to road traffic death reported a decrease in their standard of living, and 61% reported
that they had to borrow money to cover expenses following their loss. Families who lose the earning
capacity of members disabled by road traffic injuries and who are burdened with the added cost of
caring for these members may end up selling most of their assets and getting trapped in long-term
indebtedness.

A study by BUET finds that each year nearly 4000 people are reported to be killed in road accidents
of which 21 percent are children under 16 years of age. According to one study report of Manusher
Jonno Foundation, 517 children died in 378 incidents of road accidents in 2015. The leading cause
of child deaths in Bangladesh is road traffic accidents. Again, one-third of the victims are adult males
of age between 21-40 years.

Accident type analysis showed 'hit pedestrian' as the dominant accident type both in urban and rural
areas, 45% involvement in fatal accidents. Other common accident types are: rear end collision
(16.5%), head on collision (13.2%) and overturning (9.3%). These four accident types account for
nearly 85% of the fatal accidents. In rural areas, accident types which are highly overrepresented in
fatalities and injuries are 'hit pedestrian', 'head-on', 'running-off-the-road' and 'out-of-control' vehicles.
Indeed the running-off-road accident has the highest rate of about 19 casualties per accident.

In contrast of the above prediction, the ESCAP road safety target for achieving 50% reduction in
Road traffic accidents (RTAs) fatalities by 2020. The vision translates to set a goal towards
achieving of a 5 percent reduction in the annual number of RTA fatalities by 2020. National
Highways are recommended to be the principal target of road safety initiatives of Bangladesh
Government as 45% of all fatal accidents occurring on National Highways.

Bangladesh has program of reshaping Service Standards of Road Network with improvement of all
national highways (NH) into 4 lanes within year 2025. Construction of service lanes besides 4/6 lane
highways for slow moving vermicular traffic (SMVT), construction of raid overpass on rail-road
intersections along with NH, Construction of Flyovers/Interchanges in Major Intersections,
Improvement of all regional Highways into 4 Lanes within 2041, improvement of national highways
into expressways on priority basis.

The authorities are seems reluctant about accident unless any high-profile accident have emerged.
In case of any accident involving Civil, Military, Police and Media personnel are involved; the
authorities became pro-active in arresting offending driver and producing an investigative report. But
such alacrity is more the exception than the rule.

The writer is a Legal Economist. Email: mssiddiqui2035@gmail.com