Road Accident in Highways and Inside Dhaka City

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1.0 Introduction
Safe, sound and sustainable mobility is one of the fundamental necessities of human being. Unfortunately, mobility or transport is become a global tragedy with ever-rising trend and represent a major cause of premature deaths and disabilities worldwide. Road trauma has now been recognized as one of the significant diseases of industrial societies and is an increasing public health and economic issue in developing countries like Bangladesh. According to police statistics, there are about 4,000 deaths and many more serious injuries each year on roads in Bangladesh. Pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcyclists and those using informal transport including the bus and truck passengers are the most vulnerable road user group contributing almost 80 percent of road fatalities. Road accident and injuries are now a growing and serious problem in Bangladesh and the safety situation is very severe by international standard. Although Bangladesh is one of the lowest motorized countries (motorization level 2.3) in the world, it has, however, the worst road fatality rates in the Asia-Pacific region. Developing countries are now experiencing a serious road safety crisis. Like many other developing countries Bangladesh is experiencing a very severe road safety problem. The state of the Dhakas traffic does not require elaboration since the commuter gets their firsthand experience every day, even on weekly holiday. However, injury and fatality rates per 100,000 populations have been increasing constantly and the fatality rate per 100,000 vehicles has increased significantly in the past 10 years in Dhaka Metropolitan Area. It is not Dhaka alone, the number of deaths on highways has also gone up in recent years. About 70 percent of road accident fatalities occurred in rural areas including rural sections of national highways. Several studies (Hoque, 1986; Hoque et al., 2006) dealt with the traffic safety problem of the city and also of national highways, but very rarely research has been conducted to examine the comparative severity of accident problem in these both sector. This paper aims to analyze the ratio of the road accident in both highways and inside Dhaka city from a comparative and
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relative perspective.

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2.0 Objective
This report was an opportunity to study on a practical situation of one of the most distressed disaster in Bangladesh in recent days. Although the report has a broader objective to proceed on, but this broader objective is basically fragmented in some more specific objective. These are as follows The status of the vulnerability of both sector-highway and inside Dhaka city Compare both sector to each other and identify the equality or excessiveness of two sectors in terms of vulnerability The variabilities of the vulnerability in both sector The gap between adopted action steps and the antidote for the variabilities of the vulnerability Probable appropriate solution

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3.0 Methodology Types and source- with regards of the availability of the
information I have used both primary and secondary data in all aspect of the report. Most of the primary data are collected from different sources, includes road accident victims, witness, drivers, hospital officials etc. Secondary used in the report are taken from the various research reports, web sites and news paper.

Analysis Plan- This report is basically analysis from both

comparative and relative perspective. It aims to identify the degree of vulnerability of highways and inside Dhaka city in case of road accident, whether the two sectors are equally vulnerable or one is more than other one. In order to do that accurately the study has first gathered the idea and data from conducted survey and then took the logical back-up from previous researches. After that the report has analyzed the gathered data from two perspectives both comparative and relative. It has found out the similar vulnerable criteria in two sectors and also found out the different criteria.

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4.0 Justification
The road accident has become the most obvious event in present days. Office goers, school students, workers, pedestrian every morning people go out with this uncertainty that they might not see the face of their dearest ones again. Sometime it may grant the life but breaks the bone of the main earning person of the family and shatters the dream of that family. A road accident is not just an accident; its like a curse for a family. Once upon a time, there was a belief that road accident is the phenomena that happen only in the foreign country. After that, few accidents in Bangladesh forced people to believe that road accident can also take place in our country but only in big highways. Today is the time when road accident is no longer restricted to one area by its characteristics. At present road accidents status inside Dhaka city has achieved a neck to neck position in the competition with highway accident. Now, almost every day we see the newspaper with blood colored photos of the accident, among which highway and inside Dhaka city both comes in front. Each year more than 500000 people die in road accidents around the world (Mannan and Karim,1998). In Bangladesh fatality rates per 10,000 vehicles are about 86 persons (Ross, 1998). The safety problem is very severe by international standards with some 45 fatalities per 10000 motor vehicles in Bangladesh compared to 2.0 in the USA and 1.4 in UK, for example (Hoque et al., 1997). In Bangladesh, the most scientific and modern research was conducted by Hoque (1981 to 1991), which provide some important and factual information about the
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extent and nature of accidents. All these research works signify the severity and the increasing trend of the road accident in Bangladesh. Some of the research has focused on highways individually or only on inside Dhaka city. These researches help us to understand that both highways and inside Dhaka City
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both sectors are vulnerable, but queries do not take full stop here. Despite of this fact, that road accident is obvious in both highways and inside Dhaka city, there is no such research or statement that will inform us that which sector is more vulnerable among highways and inside Dhaka city. For this reason, I decided to find out the answer in this research. I decided to analyze the researches on both sector and judge them with the present statistics and the victims/witness of the road accident. The aim is to bring out a finding which will be based on practical scenario and supportive researches. And the result will help to understand that among highways and inside Dhaka city which one is more vulnerable or whether they are equally vulnerable or not. This research is important because its not enough to know that road accident is increasing, or its not enough to know why road accidents are happening. Individual researches are done highlighting highways and inside Dhaka city individually. As a result it is difficult for the government to implement the action steps in two sectors on the priority basis. Once we will understand which sector is more vulnerable or both are equally vulnerable we will be able to identify the variability by which the vulnerability varies or gets equal. After that it will be easy to resolve the matter by implanting the prescribed action steps against that variability.

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5.0 Limitation
This research paper was based on the road accidents in both national highways and inside Dhaka city. It was aimed to find out the vulnerability of the road accident in both national highways and inside Dhaka city from a relative as well as comparative perspective. At the initial stage, it seemed that availability of the relevant information would not be very difficult to find out as road accident has become a common phenomenon in recent days. In reality, actual situation presented some different scenario. Although road accidents are taking place in every day, but it was hard to process peoples understanding and get the data that report needed. This is because road accidents are happening in both national highways and inside Dhaka city almost every day on a regular basis. So, people get confused to judge which one is more vulnerable. Along with this the report was forced to face some other problems, as such Peoples confusion to judge the vulnerability

Less availability of the recent secondary data

Analysis only on own ability Limit the study into confined area where as the subject includes lot more thing

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6.0 Accident Statistics

Bangladesh is a very densely populated low lying country with 123 million inhabitants living in an area of 147 570 sq. km. Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, has a population of over 10 million with a growth rate of 8% per annum. Road transport plays an important role in Bangladesh. It has achieved a significant growth in the road transport sector over the past twenty years. Presently the length of roads is about 271,000 kilometers (km), including about 21,000 km of major roads; 2,835 route km of railways; 3,800 km of perennial waterways (which increases to 6,000 km during the monsoon) and the ports of Mongla and Chittagong; and three international airports (Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet) and eight domestic airports. Road transport has turned out to be the most dominant mode in carriage of passenger and freight traffic in recent years. The number of registered motor vehicles on road increased steadily by 62% over the last decade from 3 39 448 in 1990 to 5 51 011 in 2000. The motor vehicle composition on roads is characterized as motorcycles 46%,motor cars 14%; trucks 12%; baby taxis 12%;buses/minibuses 9%, and others 7%. Despite phenomenal growth in the number of motor vehicles the countrys transport demand is still predominantly met by nonmotorized modes, particularly rickshaws and its level of motorization is far below the levels in other Asian countries. The present number of rickshaws in Bangladesh could be in the order of 8 00 000. To cater to the growing demand of road transport, the major road network (national highways, regional roads and feeder roads) increased from 14 949 km to 21 174 km in 2000. Pedestrians are involved in about 70% of road accidents.

Number of Registered Vehicles in Bangladesh up to June 2011

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Figure 1: Number of registered Vehicles in Bangladesh up to 2011

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Source: http://www.brta.gov.bd/statistic/

Traffic Accident Trends in Bangladesh

Figure 2: Traffic accident trends in Bangladesh from1999 to 2008

Source:http://www.brta.gov.bd/statistic/

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Reported Traffic Accident Trends in Bangladesh

Figure 3: Reported Traffic Accident Trends in Bangladesh

source: Police Headquarters (FIR) Report

National Statistical trends in road accidents

Total number of Fatalities- 2646 (In 2010) [Source Police FIR) Total number of Serious injuries-1389 (in 2010) [Source Police FIR) Total number of road accidents 2827 (in 2010) [Source Police FIR) Pedestrian death (Total Pedestrians Death -1206 (in 2009) (Source : Police MAAP5 Data) Motorcyclist deaths (Not available)
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Road accident death of children less than 5 years)-(Death -69(in 2009), Source : Police MAAP5 Data) Fleet Safety records or public/private sector organization (detains/100,000 km)- Not available

Accident type in Bangladesh

Most common accident types are Hit pedestrian (45%), Rear end collisions (16.5%), Head on collisions (13.2%), Overturning (9.3%)

Intensity of the Accident

Fatal 77 %, nearly 22 percent of all fatalities in Bangladesh and are 2.5 times higher

than the in industrialized countries Grievous 16 percent, Simple 3 percent, Simple Collision type 4 percent Demonstrates the prevalence of significant, Underreporting of Injury accidents.

Cause of accident in Bangladesh

Over-involvement of Trucks and Buses
Unskilled and less educated drivers Illegal competition to overtake the vehicle Reckless driving Over- speeding Over- Loading Vehicular defects; Lack of Knowledge consciousness of the road users

Lack of Training to the drivers Lack of training of maintenance of vehicles Poor implementation of Traffic rules & regulations Driving under influence of alcohol, drugs etc.; Poor utilization of helmets, seat belts etc.; Walk on the roads instead of foot over bridge Cross the road without using the foot over bridge Using roads instead of using the footpath

and road

Adverse road condition/(30%)

The distribution of accidents according to road types

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Hazardous environments

roads

&

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National Highways-38% Regional Roads-12%

Feeder Roads-15% Others-(Including 35% City Streets)-

6.1 Situation of Dhaka City

Road traffic accidents and the resulting deaths have now emerged as one of the major safety and public health problems in urban areas all over the world. The combination of rapid urbanization and motorization has made the problem even severe for the developing cities of Asia. Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh is no exception. Official statistics reveal that more than fatalities and injuries occur annually due to traffic accidents in Dhaka city. It demonstrates the burden and seriousness of the problem and emphasizes the need for strict and comprehensive measures to prevent the unwanted and unnecessary loss of lives. In urban areas, the traffic roadway system context is more complex where a mixed road user environment prevails and greater perceptual and cognitive demands are placed on the road users. The heterogeneity of traffic, modes of works with varying speed and maneuvering time makes the cities like Dhaka even more complex.

6.2 Situation of National Highways

Almost 30 percent of total accidents on national highways are occurring only in 4 percent of total kilometer age. Hazards associated with roads and roadsides were particularly predominant. Adverse roadway elements contributing to highway accidents were substandard road way alignment or geometry, lack of shoulders and shoulder defects, absent or inappropriate pedestrian facilities, narrow and defective lanes and bridges/bridge approaches, roadside hazards, undefined pavement centre and edge lines, poor sight distances and visibility, unmarked and inappropriate design of intersections, serious delineation deficiencies along the route, haphazard bus shelters/stops, and others. In many of these cases running-offroad accidents involved vehicles leaving the carriageway and falling down the unprotected out-of-control accidents. Roadside trees were involved in about 20 percent of these accident types. Studies are underway at Accident Research Centre for identification and treatments of hazardous road locations using standard definitions, criteria and methods together with field
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steep drops into ditches, accounting for nearly 60 percent of total, running-off-road and

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observations so that the cost effective countermeasures particularly low cost countermeasures can be devised for highway safety improvements.

7.0 Survey
Number of People The survey was observed among 20 persons who provide their honest information about their experience of road accident. Target People to Survey The surveyed people were the road accident victims, witness, police official, hospital official and some general public who also notice road accident through newspaper and television. Number of question The survey questionnaire included 12 questions and it was prepared with a concern to make the survey simple and effective as much as possible. Age group To conduct the survey we have selected the people who are from 16 to above 60 years old. Though children are also affected by road accident but a 16+ adult and matured person can give a more clear and concrete thought rather than a below 16 adolescent. The Education Level of the people of The Survey This survey was not restricted in to any literacy level. This is because, most of the drivers are under S.S.C level, on the other hand some highly educated person can be responsible for a road accident. Besides, roads are open for both literate and illiterate people.

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8.0 Data Analysis

The survey questionnaire includes 12 questions among which some questions are just to initiate the interview; few questions are to instill the surveyed person into the situation and few questions are to bring out the reality. In order to keep the report free from excessive details here the analysis is focusing just on the few relevant questions and also some relevant responses of the questionnaire. This survey was based on the subjective view of the people who are either victim or witness of any road accident. So, in case of some questions the surveyed people have express their view through more than one option. On the other hand in case of some questions, some options got no or very few response. As a result, the sum of the percentage of responses will not be equal to 100%. That is why, the analysis has ignored to express the ratio of responses to the options, and in fact the following analysis has highlighted only some significant and crucial questions as well some selected answer options. Q. No.1 How it happened/ what type of road accident it was? Options of The Questions Collision with Bus Hit Pedestrian/during road crosses sudden loss of controls on the vehicle Number of Responds 7 5 5 In Percentage 35% 25% 25%

Interpretation & Analysis: The table shows the highest response to the option Collision with Bus by 35%. Rest of the two options got 2 nd focus by 25% response among other options. This question was intended to know the most obvious case or type of road accident in peoples view. The responses explain that the most common type is Collision with Bus. Along with this Hit pedestrian and sudden loss of control is also seen off and on. So, it can be stated that bus is more involved in road accident as well as pedestrians are also not free from faults.
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Q. No. 2 it was?

In your point of view, who was the actual responsible for the accident/whom fault Options of The Questions Your driver opposite driver Passenger/Pedestrian Authority Number of Responds 2 14 4 2 In Percentage 10% 70% 25% 10%

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Interpretation & Analysis: The table shows the highest response to the option Opposite Driver by 70%. 2nd focus is on Passenger/Pedestrian by 25% response and little focus on your driver or own driver and authority by 10%. This question was intended to know who or what instigate the accident. The responses explain that the opposite driver instigate the accidents in most cases. Like previous explanation, pedestrian are also responsible for huge number of the accidents. Along with this Hit pedestrian and sudden loss of control is also seen off and on. So, it can be stated that bus is more involved in road accident as well as pedestrians are also not free from faults. Q. No. 3 What were the probable measures that could have been taken to avoid the accident? Options of The Questions Road divider Training of the drivers Monitoring by traffic police Number of Responds 4 14 5 In Percentage 20% 70% 25%

Interpretation & Analysis: The table shows the highest response to the option Road Divider by 70%. Rest of the two options got 2nd focus by 5% & 4% response among other options. This question was intended to know the general reason of the road accident in peoples view. The responses explain that the general reason in most cases is Training of the Drivers which instigate the accident. Q. No. 4 Do you think that rate of road accident has been increased in recent days? Why? Options of The Questions Yes No Little Bit Number of Responds 20 0 0 In Percentage 100% 0 0

Interpretation & Analysis: The table shows the highest response to the option Yes by 100%. This question was intended to know peoples view on road accident status in recent
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days. The responses explain a strong believe on the increasing rate of road accident. Along with this, different respondent showed different reason behind this increasing rate. Q. No. 5 Which side is more vulnerable you think? Why? Options of The Questions Number of Responds Highways 13 Inside Dhaka City 7 In Percentage 65% 35%

Interpretation & Analysis: The table shows the highest response to the option Highways by 65%. 2nd focus is on Inside Dhaka city by 35% response. This question was intended to know the most vulnerable side or most likeable area for road accident. The responses explain that Highways are most vulnerable to road accident than Inside Dhaka City. Although the percentage of vulnerability of Inside Dhaka city is not that much small but it is lower than Highways. Q. No.6 Which type of Vehicle is more involved in Road Accident? Options of The Questions Bus Truck CNG Ricksha Number of Responds 16 10 3 2 In Percentage 80% 50% 15% 10%

Interpretation & Analysis: The table shows the highest response to the option Bus by 70%. 2nd focus is on Truck by 10% response and little focus on CNG and Ricksha by 15% and 10%. This question was intended to know what type of vehicle is mostly involved in road accidents. The responses explain that Bus and Trucks are mostly involved in road both highways and inside Dhaka city.
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accident. Like previous explanation, Buses are the medium of accidents in most of the cases in

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9.0 Findings
Along with the survey result this report has also studied the supportive previous researches to get the logical support behind the survey findings. At first, the study will extract the result from survey and then will get the logical support from the previous research.

9.1 Findings from survey

The table below is a snapshot of the gist of survey findingTable 1: Survey Finding

Points Most obvious case of Road accident Mostly involved vehicle in road accident Responsible for the accident Reason behind the accident Most vulnerable side

Status Collision with Bus, Hit pedestrian, Sudden loss of control Bus, Truck Opposite driver, Pedestrian Lack of Training of The Driver Highways

So, the overall survey result explains that Road accidents are increasing and highways are more vulnerable to road accident than inside Dhaka city. Bus and trucks are mostly involved in road accidents. Trucks and buses are the major contributors (80%) to road accident fatalities. Buses and trucks are most frequently involved in running-off-road (and hitting roadside objects), head-on and out-of-control types of accidents. Drivers of buses and trucks coming from opposite side are the most obvious to generate the accident. The first and foremost reason behind this is the lack of training of these drivers. Besides, Pedestrian and passengers are also responsible for the road accident in some cases. Sometime their careless movements and disregard attitude toward traffic rules make the drivers helpless that cause accident. Both pedestrians and drivers on the one hand had incomplete knowledge of traffic rules, and on the other hand, the observed behavior proved
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that they disregarded the rules. This blatant, and at times nonchalant, disregard for traffic rules Highways in Bangladesh Absence of road divider and speed breaker Lack of signage and traffic signals Lack of traffic police Over speed in straight road Overtaking tendency can only spell disaster, and it is. Inside Dhaka city Density of population Increased vehicles Congested road Inactive traffic system Lack of speed breakers Bad condition of the road

Vulnerability Issues
This report has tried to identify some vulnerable issues which acts like a seed and generates the road accident with the help of causes behind road accidents. The table below shows the vulnerability of road accident in both aspects according to the respondent of the survey.

Table 2: Vulnerable issues in National highways and Dhaka city according to the respondent

9.2 Findings from Supportive research

At first the focus has been given on identifying the most vulnerable side, then it followed by identifying the vulnerable issues. Following below is the accident record in highways of the country from 1998 to 2007.
Table3: Black spots in national highways from 1998 to 2007

Highway Dhaka-Chittagong Highway Dhaka-Aricha Highway Daulatdia-Jheenaida-Khulna Highway Nagarbari-Banglabandha Highway Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway Gazipur-Tangail-Jamalpur Highway Nagarbari-Rajshahi Highway Dhaka-Mawa-Barishal Highway Dhaka-Sylhet Highway

No. Of Accident 615 363 172 319 85 151 215 34 500

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Total

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2454

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Source: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics

In order to focus on the other part of the analysis following table shows the no of accident in different areas of Dhaka city.
Table 4: Black spots in national highways from 1998 to 2009

Sl. No. Jatrabari 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29.

Name of the area Farmgate Sonargaon-Panthopath Bijoy Sharoni Topkhana-Purana Paltan Saidabad Shonir Akhra crossing Jasim Uddin road crossing Kakoli (Mymensingh Rd+Kamal Ataturk Avenue) Shahbag Staff road crossing GPO Hotel Sheraton Shapla Chattar New Eskaton Kakrail, Bhasani road New Airport road+Bijoy sharoni Tongi diversion road Moghbazar Mirpur road+Cresent Lake road crossing Shangshad+Manik Mia avenue Pragati sharoni(Badda) Manik Mia Avenue+Indira road (rajabazar) Malibag crossing Joar Shahara Kakrail Traffic signal Hatkhola crossing Mahakhali crossing Asad Gate
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No. of Accidents 158 111 98 87 79 77 76 70 67 66 58 57 57 55 51 51 50 49 49 45 44 43 41 41 40 38 37 36 35

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30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54.

New Market, Mirpur road Kuril, Biswa road Mohakhali Rokeya Sharoni Green road junction Gullistan Shyamoli (Mirpur Road) Mowchak Ramna, Bhasani Gate Rokeya sharoni Motijheel Shatrasta Round circle Osmani Uddyan Flying club crossing Cantomnet Zia Colony Gate Tikatuki, Toyenbee Circle road Russel Square DIT Extension road, Police HQ Mirpur 10 Round circle Katabon crossing Rainbow crossing Postogola Baily road crossing Sugandha crossing Bangshal crossing

34 33 33 33 33 32 32 31 31 30 28 27 26 26 25 24 23 22 22 21 21 18 18 18 16

Total
Source: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics

2391

The above 2 table of 2 sectors clearly explains the fact. The noticeable point is the data for national highways is from 1998 to 2007 and data for Dhaka city is from 1998 to 2009, this means accident record of Dhaka city is 2years more than national highways. Even though the total number of accident in national highways is larger than Dhaka city and it is larger by huge numbers. So, at this stage of the analysis, this can be stated that national highways are more vulnerable to road accidents than Dhaka city. And this has been proved by both survey and research study.

Vulnerability issues
Now, the 2nd part of the analysis is to identify the vulnerability issues. The study has already found out from survey result the peoples view regarding vulnerability issues. The table below shows the vulnerability of road accident in both aspects according to the previous research.

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Highways in Bangladesh Risky pedestrian crossing Straight but severe road side Faded lines Unpaved vulnerable shoulder Undivided no use of barrier

Inside Dhaka city Illegal road side shops Minimum level of speed breakers Less number of flud light Same lane for both motorized and Non Motorized vehicle Straight road which become slippery in rainy season Roads under construction or with bad condition

Table 5: Vulnerable issues in National highways and Dhaka city according to the previous research

At this stage, the report has two tables of vulnerability issues, one from survey study another from previous research. If the points of these two tables are being matched then it will be visible that almost all the points are same. This means that the issues that came up from the survey are logical and practical. These vulnerable issues are really instigating the road accidents with the help of some other additional causes.

9.3 Overall Findings

Road traffic accidents have now emerged as one of the major safety concern issue in any developing country. A country like Bangladesh, where the population density is too high and the roads are too congested, road accidents are most obvious to take place off and on. The number of road accident in Bangladesh has been reached to an alarming stage in recent days. National highways as well as Dhaka city areas both are witnessing road accidents in almost every day. The survey result and supportive previous research revealed that national highways are more vulnerable to road accidents compare to Dhaka city area. The survey findings have explained that opposite drivers trucks and buses are the major opposite side are the most obvious to generate the accident. The first and foremost reason behind this is the lack of training of these drivers. In most cases, the driver is thought to be guilty for causing an accident. But the pedestrians are also to blame in many cases Pedestrians' knowledge regarding rules of walking and crossing road, following signs and
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contributors (80%) to road accident fatalities. Drivers of buses and trucks coming from

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symbols, and drivers' knowledge of vehicles, rules of overtaking, speed, using lanes, conforming to traffic signs and symbols are very poor. The study separated the vulnerable issues from causes of road accidents. This is because; vulnerable issues are not the only and direct factor that instigates the road accidents. When these issues get accompanied by the causes it generates the accidents. For example, absence of road divider is a vulnerable issue because accident can still be avoided if drivers are careful and trained. So, careless and untrained drivers are causes of accidents. Both survey result and the previous supportive result have revealed almost the same vulnerable issues in case of national highways as well as Dhaka city area. These are likeTable 6: Vulnerable issues in National highways and Dhaka city

National Highways Absence of road divider and speed breaker Lack of traffic signals and system Over speed in straight road Faded lines Unpaved vulnerable shoulder

Inside Dhaka City Minimum level of speed breakers Congested road, Huge vehicles and population Bad condition of the road Illegal road side shops Same lane for both motorized and Non Motorized vehicle

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10.0 Recommendation
The number of annual RTA fatalities seems to be stabilized in recent years more stabilization has to be achieved. There has to be a significant decrease in the number of persons killed each year as a result of road accidents. A suitable vision for road safety in Bangladesh, which is not unrealistic, is achieving nearly 50% reduction in road accident fatalities within next10 years and also the reduction of the frequency of road accidents to nearly 30%. For the next three years goal could be set up towards achieving of 15-20% reduction in the annual number of road accident fatalities by the end of the year 2013. Following are the recommended steps that needs to be taken to reduce roads accident rate Avoid Reckless driving, Over- speeding and Over- Loading; Defective vehicles cannot be derived; Provide adequate training to drivers and pedestrians; Roads needs to be properly constructed & maintained; Strong implementation of Traffic rules & regulations; Strict authority and policy to provide driving license; Severe punishment on rules break; Safe driving without having alcohol, drugs etc. must be ensured; Pedestrians have to use the footpath instead of road; Use foot over bridge or zebra crossing while crossing the road;. Utilize helmets and fastening seat belts, etc.; 100% concentration is required while driving the Vehicle; Regular fitness checking of the vehicle and strict ban on defective vehicle Hazardous locations improvement Huge programs should be adopted regarding public awareness of road safety by different NGOs and other organizations besides the Govt. The high rate of fatal accidents in Bangladesh is cause for alarm and unacceptable. The creation of NRSC and adoption of Road Safety Strategic Action Plans are welcome moves towards improving road safety. In order to ensure safety on road, GOB has also introduced police patrolling system on highways. However, not many tangible results have been achieved so far. It is imperative to review the measures adopted to identify the problems of
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implementation and improve or modify them so that they can be more effective. Road safety issues like education and public awareness, community participation, enforcement, management of transport sector needs to be addressed at the policy preparation level.

11.0 Conclusion
With the process of rapid economic growth together with increasing motorization and urbanization, the situation of road safety problems has been worsening in many developing and so called emerging countries. The road traffic accidents and injury statistics also revealed a deteriorating safety situation in Bangladesh. There remains much scope for improving road safety and for that known and proven interventions need to be implemented with due urgency, ranging from education, engineering and enforcement. Importantly, initiatives to improve the conditions would require renewed governmental commitment and considerable resources particularly trained local personnel, safety specialists and researchers to build up indigenous capacity and attain sustainability of effective road safety programs.

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12.0 Reference
1) Hasib Mohammad Ahsan and Mazharul Hoque (2002) Journal of Civil Engineering, The Institute of Engineers Bangladesh, vol CE 30 No.1 2) Prof.Dr.Md. Mazharul Hoque, Greg Smith, Dewan Zayid Hossain, S M Sohel Mahmood (2010) Improving Highway Safety in Bangladesh:Road Improvement and The Potential Application of iRAP. 3) Ahsan, H.M. and Hoque, M.M.(1991) Mass Transit in Metropoliton Dhaka-Some Issues-Journal of The Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh, Dhaka Vol.19,No.12,January. 4) Police Headquarters FIR Report 5) TheDailyStarWebEdition,Vol.5,No.799,http://www.thedailystar.net/2006/08/25/d6082 51503125.htm Last checked on 23/03/2012 6) http://www.brta.gov.bd/statistic/ last checked on 23/03/2012 7) Khandkar Fatema Begum, Bangladesh Country Paper on Road Safety 8) Blackspot of National Highways, Accident Research Institute 9) Hazardous Intersection of DMP, Accident Research Institute 10) http://road accident\BANGLAPEDIA 20/03/2012 11) http://www.brta.com last checked on 24/03/2012 Road Transport.htm, last Checked on

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