Bangladesh Community Road Safety Initiative Project

Presentation to Stakeholders

Venue: MC 13-800

Washington DC.

November 11, 1999

Current Situation in Bangladesh

• 70 deaths per 10,000 vehicles

• Fatality rate in Bangladesh is most severe in Asia and 40 times that of industrialized countries

• Pedestrians are the ones that are most affected: – They account for 60% of all road

accident fatalities,

– 46% of those killed are men

– women and children are secondary victims

– 40%-50% of hospital beds are occupied by traffic accidents

Note: All are 1997 figures

Current Road & Traffic Situation

• Inadequate separation of major highways (from living and commercial activity)

• Inadequate pedestrian facilities• Poorly designed roads• Growing traffic levels and higher speeds• Ever increasing number of vehicles on the road (motorized

and non-motorized vehicles)• Untrained drivers often using fake licenses• Ignorance on road safety among drivers and pedestrians• Weak enforcement of traffic laws

CURRENT ROAD AND TRAFFIC SITUATION

Categories of Road Traffic Accident CasualtiesCategories of RTA

-Fatalities 40%

-Serious injuries 32%

-Slight injuries 54%

Only 20% included in the official statistics

level of under-reporting was high and consistent through out Bangladesh

79,000 casualty estimated in Bangladesh in1997 (5 X official figures)

• Annual Accident Costs- 21,435 taka million ($437 million)

• Gross National Product 1,616,309 taka ($32, 986 million)

• Accident Costs %GNP(1.4%)

ANNUAL ACCIDENT COSTS AND GROSS NATIONAL PRODUCT (1997)

Current Road Safety Actions

• The National Road Safety Action Plan, drawn up in 1996, lists out 9 sub-sectors of road safety:

• Accident Data Reporting

• Road Safety Engineering

• Traffic Legislation

• Traffic Enforcement

• Driver Training and Testing

• Vehicle Safety

• Education

• Publicity, and

• Medical Services

• Road safety needs to be recognized as a high priority at the local level or else there is a danger that it will stay as a neglected area for action by the central government.

• Road safety initiatives thus far have been relatively silent on the roles of the victims:– pedestrians,

– young men

– women,

– children, and

– passengers of buses and rickshaws

• This group of people has two important roles:– To become self-aware in order to protect

themselves from dangerous situations

– Act as a pressure group to influence policy makers, legislators, traffic police, and vehicle operators to take corrective actions

SHIFT IN STRATEGY NOW NEEDED

• Bring in voices of victims in the design choice of safety measures

• Address weaknesses in central agencies by using local communities

• Behavioral changes through education and awareness

• Good analytical work, legislation and proposal for action have been made under the Road Safety Action Plan

• National Road Safety Council has been established

• Rising support exists for road safety

Can raise profile of Road Safety among decision makers

Provide funds, expertise for implementation of Road Safety

Has good understanding with other donors on Road Safety

Can provide links with Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP). The CRSIP is a pilot initiative of GRSP

OPPORTUNITIES FOR BANK INVOLVEMENT

Responds to CASPRIORITIES

Promoting better public sector management

Promoting more equitable human development in relation to health, income, security and gender

Creating partnership between government,private sector and NGOs

• Secretary of Ministry of Communications

• Additional Secretary of Finance (ERD)

• Joint Secretary of Ministry of Local Government

ROAD SAFETY CHAMPIONS

• Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry

• Nitol Group ( Mr. Matlub Ahmad, chairman of a leading bus and transport co.

• Grameen Phone, a leading provider of telecommunications services

• The Rangs Group with business interest in automobiles, buses and trucks

• Glaxo Wellcome Pharmaceutical (Mr. Haque the CEO, has recently been involved in a major traffic accident

• 4-6 representatives offered to support advertising space for road safety

ROAD SAFETY CHAMPIONS:CORPORATE PARTNERS

ROAD SAFETY CHAMPIONS:CIVIL SOCIETY

• Director of Bangladesh National Mother & Child Health Hospital

• CAMPE an Educational Awareness Institute (Ms. Chowdhury, Executive Director

• BRAC (A large national NGO) has a component for Road Safety in its activities

• IMCT (Mr. Murtaza Babu- Ed)

• Mr. Ilyas Kanchan (Film Actor who lost his wife and children in a road accident)

• Daily Star, Independent and New Nation

• Bangladesh Road Transport Association (Mr. Haq, President)

Proposed Project COMPONENTS

A Strategic Communications Program (SCP): Involves building on existing initiatives and includes other activities like:* General population through mass media

* Seminars and/or workshops for road users, pedestrians, drivers community member, government officials, and private groups or individuals

* Drivers training program

B Local Initiatives and Program:* Preparation of District and local local level Road Safety Action Plans

* Implement RS projects by local RS Groups with assistance from District and Center . Include:

* physical measures (fencing, signage, road repair, and safety watch posts)

* law enforcement equipment and training;

* emergency medical, legal and financial help to victims

Proposed Project Components

Community Road Safety Fund and Institutional Strengthening:

This is to establish the fund and to strengthen the capacity of its partners in road safety activities:– provide regular, continuing income to support RS activities

– orientation and training activities to RS partners

– review and approve local road safety action plans

– finance individual road safety projects

– monitor and evaluation of RS activities

Recognition - this is a temporary measure with an explicit exit strategy to

mainstream road safety initiatives.

Global Road Safety Partnership

Global Burden of Disease 1990 2020 Lower respiratory infections 1 1 Ischaemic heart disease Diarrhoeal diseases 2 2 Unipolar major depression Conditions arising during the 3 Road traffic accidents Perinatal period 3 4 Cerebrovascular disease Unipolar major depression 4 5 Chronic obstructive pulmonary

Ischaemic heart disease 5 diseaseCerebrovascular disease 6 6 Lower respiratory infectionsTuberculosis 7 7 TuberculosisMeasles 8 8 WarRoad traffic accidents 9 9 Diarrhoeal diseasesCongenital anomalies 10 10 HIV

16 1128 25

24

Global Road Safety Partnership

The Silent Killer

One 747 crashes 400 killed international media attention1 planes crash / wk 4000 dead international outcry100 planes crash / mth 40,000 dead panic1,000 planes crash / year 400,000 dead boycott1,750 planes worth / yr j700,000 dead from road accidents but no one seems ?

Vulnerable road usershave two important roles

Become moreself-awareto protect

themselves

CRSIP PROJECT PROCESS

Act as pressuregroups toinfluence

Strategic Components•Educationprograms tovulnerablegroups.•Victims’assistance

•Physicalmeasures

•Mass awarenessprograms•Driver training•Police training•Incentives, penalties

To recognize and support

Local Community Road Safety Plans•Involve key local actors•Analyze safety problems•Plan physical and educational solutions•Undertake driver training•Assist victims

National-Level Actions•Strengthen NRSC, BTRA, Transp. Orgs.•Legislation, Penalties•Driver, Police training plan & incentives•Guidelines & manuals

Implementation by:•Local public works authority•Education focus groups•Driving schools•Mass media•Victim counselling & financial assistance

Accident Perpetrators•Bus & truck drivers•Motorcycle drivers•Rickshaw & handcart ops.

Actors:•Policy-makers•Legislators•Traffic police•Vehicle operators•Local Govts.•Mass media

TargetGroupsGOBNGOsCBOsPriv. Sect.

Causes:•Untrained drivers•Ineffective & corrupt police•Multiple use roadways•Poor pedestrians & NMV facilities

Accident Victims•Pedestrians•Young men•Women & children•Bus & Rickshaw passengers

Inputs Inputs

Inputs

OwnershipInfluenceAdvice

AdviceFund

Implemented by•Mass media•Training national police•Public/private national transport businessmen