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