Road accidents cause yearly loss of Tk 5000 crore

The main factors of road accidents in the country are reckless driving, over-speeding, over-loading, lack of knowledge and consciousness of the road users, vehicular defects, hazardous roads and road environments, inadequate training, poor implementation of traffic rules and regulations, says Professor Dr Mohmmad Mazharul Hoque, director of Accident Research Centre (ARC) of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET).

He said the country needs implementation of well-integrated programmes and raising of massive awareness among people about road accidents to ensure road safety.

Hoque said the government has recognised the magnitude of the problem and has taken numerous measures to combat the alarming situation. In response to the growing road traffic accident problem in the country, ARC has started a comprehensive research on road traffic accidents and commensurate remedial measures.

However, the highest levels of commitment in this regard came from Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who has establish an independent accident Research Centre in BUET within her 100-day priority programme.

ARC director said there are police records of 4000 deaths and another 5000 cases of injuries annually. The fatality rate is at least 50 times higher than the rates in western countries.

In current prices, road accident in Bangladesh is costing the community nearly 2 percent of GDP. Accident involving pedestrians are by far the biggest problem accounting for 44 percent. This is followed by rear-end and head-on accidents accounting for 16.5 percent and 13.2 percent respectively. Buses and trucks are the main contributors to accidents with buses accounts for 48 percent and trucks 37 percent.

'It is clear that pedestrian safety must have a priority in alleviating road safety problems both in urban and rural areas. Together with pedestrian, safety of bicyclists and motorcyclists is essential for road traffic fatalities, the ARC director said.

According to ARC, of the total road accident fatalities, about 53 percent are pedestrians alone. In urban areas, pedestrians represent often up to 70- percent of road accident fatalities. Nearly 80 percent of the road deaths are in the age groups of 5-45 years, which have significant economic and societal impact. Children under 16 years of age account for nearly 21 percent of road fatalities. This percentage is nearly 2.5 times higher than that of the figure of developed countries.

According to ARC, about 40 percent of the accidents occurred in urban areas and 60 percent in rural areas. Accidents at rural locations are more severe, causing almost two-thirds of all road traffic fatalities. Nearly 37 percent accidents occurred in national highways, 12 percent in regional roads and 15 percent in feeder roads.