MUNIMA SULTANA
As half of the United Nations' Second Decade of Action for Road Safety passes, there is little progress in reducing road accident fatalities and injuries in Bangladesh due to lack of reliable data, insufficient initiatives, and poor understanding of the issue.
The goal of the UN Road Safety Action is to cut road fatalities and serious injuries by 50 per cent by the end of 2030. The first Decade of Action ended in 2020. However, the mismatch of fatality data compiled by various agencies makes it difficult to develop an effective approach to improving road safety.
Road safety experts say the absence of an authentic data compilation system has led to discrepancies in road accident statistics. Data compiled by different organisations, including the police and the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), often differ significantly, and each side blame the other for misleading figures.
While private organisations conducting research in this area collect accident data from published news reports, the BRTA relies on figures provided by Bangladesh Police. However, both sources exclude deaths that occur on the way to hospital, in hospital or after discharge from hospital.
This year, the Bangladesh Passengers Welfare Association (BPWA) reported that an average of 9,727 deaths and 13,751 injuries took place annually over the past 12 years. However, the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2023 estimated the actual fatality rate in 2021 to be over 32,000.
The WHO also noted that the situation worsened over the years, with 8.0 per cent increase in the fatality rate from 2010 to 2021.
The World Bank, in a report, suggests a fatality range of between 20,736 and 21,316, much higher than the official figures.
Meanwhile, the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research (CIPR) has recently estimated 24,233 deaths annually from injuries in road accidents.
Dr. Selim Mahmud Chowdhury, Director of CIPR, stressed the importance of valid and reliable data in addressing the road safety issue. "Without valid and reliable data, the depth and consequences of the problem cannot be properly assessed, hindering efforts to ensure road safety through effective measures," he said.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges has primarily focused on awareness-building activities such as campaigns, highway safety measures, and road signs.
Following a student-led movement in 2018, the previous government enacted the Road Transport Act (RTA). However, experts say this Act has failed to address road safety issues. It mainly addresses transport registration and fitness issues, rather than road safety.
Experts also point out that the UN's Road Safety Approach requires the government to focus on safe road infrastructure, safe vehicles, safe speeds, and safe road user behaviour to halve road accident fatalities.
After the end of the first UN Decade of Action, the Ministry declared 80km/h speed limits in 2024 and took initiative to draft a new road safety law.
Since the fall of the Awami League government, road safety issues have largely been sidelined until February, when Housing and Public Works Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan attended the 4th Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in Morocco and committed to enacting a Comprehensive Road Safety Act by 2027.
The draft is currently under review by an expert committee.
Official sources said that in collaboration with development partners, several road safety projects are underway.
A World Bank-funded project was initiated in 2022, involving four government agencies, but it remained stalled until its revival at the end of 2024. Another project funded by Japan's JICA, focusing on road safety in Dhaka, has been ongoing since 2022.
Experts say that both the road safety act and speed limits are critical for progress in the second Decade of Action. However, Bangladesh is still far behind international standards in terms of vehicle safety, driving standards, road infrastructure, data management systems and road accident management system.
Road accident data collection by the police is yet to be formalised, they say.
Dr. Shariful Alam, Country Coordinator for Global Health Advocacy Incubator, said the global action for the decade has broken the tradition of blaming passengers and drivers for violations, instead focusing on infrastructure development, system implementation, data research, and management to ensure road safety.
"The infrastructure should not allow people to make mistakes, and drivers should not be allowed to violate rules," he told The FE.
Dr. Alam also emphasised the importance of "golden hour" crash management to save 50 per cent of lives, which involves providing immediate medical care in the first hour of an accident.
Such systems are yet to be introduced in Bangladesh, he added.
Taifur Rahman, Manager, Road Safety Grants Programme, Global Road Safety Partnership, Geneva, echoed similar concerns, noting that despite global attention to road safety, Bangladesh is severely lacking in preparations.
He cited the uncontrolled rise of ride-sharing services, e-bikes, and imported vehicles as examples of the country's inadequate road safety infrastructure.
"The country's transport systems do not meet international safety standards," Rahman said. "Public transport has yet to be transformed into a smart, multi-modal system."
"If we do not understand the importance of road safety through reliable and valid data, the second decade will pass without any significant achievement," he warned.
smunima@yahoo.com
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