road safety in bangladesh realities and challenges hossain zillur rahman power and participation...
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Road Safety in BangladeshRealities and Challenges
Hossain Zillur RahmanPower and Participation Research Centre
(PPRC)
Why is road safety a major concern?
• A new epidemic:
1.24 million annual deaths / 20-50 million non-fatal injuries
• Consequences both humanitarian and economic
1-2% of GDP, 100 billion USD annual loss
• Road fatalities are not inevitable
88 countries saw a drop while 87 saw a rise
• Urgency of prioritizing
5 million lives can be saved annually through road safety measures
Research strategy
• Scope• Assess magnitude of problem• Identify causal factors• Institutional landscape• Action priorities
• Multi-disciplinary research team of experts and practitioners
• Research strategy• In-depth analysis of official statistics• Review of international experiences• In-depth consultations with key stakeholders• Survey of drivers • Field research on four highway spots: Dhaka-Aricha, Dhaka-Tangail
Vehicles and Roads
Registered vehicles (2010)
Total 1624862
Cars/4-wheeled light vehicles 529215Motorized 2/3 wheelers 975682Heavy trucks 81561
Buses 38101
Source: Global Status Report on Road Safety, 2013
Length of road network, 2012
Total length 21365 km
National highways 3580 kmRegional highways 4276 kmZila & upazila roads 13509 km
Source: Statistical yearbook, 2012
Magnitude of problem• Annual deaths
3137 (official statistics: average for 2002-2012)
5162 (2013: Nirapad sarak Chai; includes deaths en route and after release)
• Fatality index (official statistics):
- 20 deaths annually for each 10,000 vehicles (2011)
- Decline from 75 deaths per 10,000 vehicles in 2000
• WHO: for each fatality, 20 non-fatal injuries
• 3 Problems with data - Under-reporting - Non-fatal accidents ignored - No data on victim profile
Where do accidents occur?
• Accident-prone districts Dhaka, Chittagong, Comilla, Tangail, Sirajganj
• 208 accident black spots (RHD list)
• Accident-prone highway length: 57 km
• Most accidents in congestion spots and inter-sections rather than isolated stretches
Accident-prone highway length
1.6
2.2
2.6
5.1
5.8
6.4
7.9
8.8
16.5
0 3 6 9 12 15 18
N3 Dhaka -Mymensingh
N405 Bangabandhu Shetu (Jamuna Bridge) approach road
N4 Gazipur-Tangail-Jamalpur
N2 Dhaka-Sylhet
N8 Daulatdia-Jhenaidah-Khulna
N7 Nagarbari-Rajshahi
N6 Nagarbari-Banglabandh
N5 Dhaka-Aricha
N1 Dhaka-Chittagong
Hig
hw
ay
Accident-prone length (km)
Classification of Accident spots
Bus stand, 40.90%
Road inter-sections, 17.80%
Bazar, 28.40%
Others, 13.00%
Victims and perpetratorsVictims Accident types Perpetrators
Pedestrians 41% Hit-and-run 42% Bus 38%
Bus/car passengers
19% Head-on collision
19% Truck 31%
2/3 wheelers riders/passen
gers
16% Over-turned 13% Motor-cycles 12%
Truck/bus drivers/passe
nger
14% Rear-end hit 9% Cars/jeeps 11%
Cyclists 3% Side swipe 6% 3 wheelers 9%
Post-accident needsShort-term/immediate Long-term
Need Ideal provider Need Ideal provider
• First aid Local people, vehicle staff, nearby medical centre, adjoining local
govt reps
• Compensation Courts, insurance companies
• Transportation
Local people, nearby medical centre,
police,
• Long-term treatment
Family, government
• Protect people & vehicles
Police, local leaders • Assistive devices
Family, community, insurance companies
• Compensation for victim
Vehicle owners, Insurance companies
• IG skills for disabled
NGOs, social entrepreneurs
• Employment for alternative family member
Government, community
Reality check on post-crash facilities
Post-crash care Availability
• Emergency room based injury surveillance system No
• Emergency access telephone number No
• Seriously injured transported by ambulance <10%
• Permanently disabled due to lack of facilities 13%
• Emergency training for doctors No
• Emergency training for nurses No
• Trauma centres Severely inadequate
Driver profilesVariable Finding
Age 24-35 years: 47%36-50 years: 48%
Education 48% secondary or equivalentOnly 8% wholly illiterate
Earner 70% single earner families22% two earner families
Housing 41% rural residence/sleep in vehicles33% rented house21% in dormitories (‘mess’)
Monthly income 47% - Tk 15-20 thousand 19% - Tk. 10-15 thousand16% - Tk. 20-25 thousand15% - Tk. 26-50 thousand
Nature of income Trip-based; only 9% have fixed monthly income
Driver characteristicsCharacteristic Finding
License • 97% report having license• 20% report obtaining license without test• 92% pay bribe and 54% face severe time delays in
obtaining license
Trade union • 80% are unionised
Training • 81% learnt driving skills through informal process usually with a ‘mentor’ (ustad)
• Learning hours with ustad 1500• Commercial learning hours is 93
Cost of training • Informal process: approx Tk. 4000• Formal process: approx Tk 6000
Confidence on learning
• 70% fully confident
Work-load • About 20% extremely over-worked with 6-7 days weekly and 13-16 hours daily
Accident penalty • 42% faced no penalty in case of accidents• 58% of incurred accidents minor in nature
9 Causes of accidents
• Reckless driving
• Untrained drivers
• Unfit vehicles
• Simultaneous operation of motorized and non-motorized vehicles without separation and
adequate rules
• Vulnerable road-side activities
• Faulty road design
• Poor traffic enforcement
• Lack of road safety awareness and risky pedestrian behavior
• Culture of impunity and poor legal redress
Additional causes highlighted in field research
• Mental, physical and financial pressures on drivers
• General lack of road safety awareness
• Absence of supplementary facilities on roads – hard shoulder, bus bays, helpful signal &
markings, access roads
• Failure to productively reconcile local economic growth needs with road safety needs
Laws and Institutions
• MVO 1983 is updated version of 1913 law
• Major new initiative on new law –
RTTA, 2011 but yet to materialize
• Institutions BRTA, Metropolitan, district and highway police, RTC, ARI, RHD, LGED
Perceptions on recent progress and setbacks
Perceptions on progressPerception % of response
----------------------------------------------New roads built and 84%others repaired----------------------------------------------------Road dividers/introduction 34%of 1-way system----------------------------------------------------Building of fly-overs 32%& over-bridges----------------------------------------------------Increase in number of 21%highway police---------------------------------------------------Some road curves have been 20% straightened
Perceptions on setbacksPerceptions % of response
------------------------------------------------Increased extortion on 62%highways by police/ruling party activists----------------------------------------------------------------------Increased traffic of unlicensed 43%informal transports (nasimon/karimon/easy bikes)----------------------------------------------------------------------Proliferation of road-side markets 39%----------------------------------------------------------------------Improper and irregular road 21%repair and maintenance----------------------------------------------------------------------Illegal truck stands & parking 20%on highway----------------------------------------------------------------------Proliferation of unfit vehicles on the roads 11%----------------------------------------------------------------------Lack of pedestrian awareness 8%
6 findings that matter
Incidents concentrated in accident spots
Congestion spots and intersections main location of accidents
Pedestrians and vulnerable road-users main victims
Multiple causal factors necessitate holistic safety agenda
Significant gaps in law and policy
Political economy factors major impediment to success on safety agenda
10 recommendations• National dialogue on RTTA 2011 for early passage of an appropriately
updated road traffic law
• Regular updating of the list of accident black spots and priority action plan on black spot improvement
• Improved road engineering solutions with priority attention to geometric standard, intersection design, grade separation, access control on highways, pedestrian facilities, regular maintenance and adoption of road safety audit approach
• Introduction of an independent economic code for road safety projects in the budgetary process and mobilization of funds including donor assistance for such projects
• Comprehensive study on optimal resolution of road-building and road-side economic activities
Recommendations contd.• Promotion of quality driving training schools
• Scaling up a national road safety awareness program in partnership with civic platforms and NGOs active on the agenda. Such a program is to be targeted to drivers, vulnerable road-users and school children
• Establishment of a National Traffic Training Academy along with a comprehensive review of current approach to traffic management by police
• Promotion of effective community policing solutions to irrational traffic congestion and safe use of roads
• Improving trauma facilities with priority attention to capacity building on emergency and critical care, institution of a universal emergency access number and affordable provision of assistive devices
4 advocacy priorities
Social communication targeted to drivers and vulnerable road users
Awareness program targeted to school children
Focused workshops with administrative departments – RHD, LGED, Ministry of Communication, Ministry of Health and local government bodies aimed at making such bodies more pro-active in realization of their road safety plans
Policy advocacy on updated road transport and traffic legislation