Speed Management and Safe Crossing on Dhaka-Sylhet Highway (N2) in Bangladesh

Introduction
Road traffic crashes - the leading cause of death by injury <strong>and</strong> the tenth leading cause of all
deaths globally - now make up a surprisingly significant portion of the worldwide burden of
ill health. Eighty eight countries have reduced the number of deaths on their roads – but the
total number of road traffic deaths remains unacceptably high at 1.24 million per year (WHO,
2013). The fatality rate is considerably increasing in developing countries than the developed
countries. And, if present trends continue, road traffic injuries are predicted to be the fifth -
leading contributor to the global burden of disease <strong>and</strong> injury by 2030 (WHO, 2013).
Road Traffic Injury (RTI) is one of the leading health burdens for children aged over
five years in LMICs. Every year, around 80,000 children aged 5-14 in LMICs lose their
right to education for a single tragic reason, that of RTIs <strong>and</strong> it is the leading cause
of death for young people aged 15–29. However, Bangladesh still has a very
low level of motorization compared to other neighboring countries but its RTI
rate is high, almost 100 times greater than Norway <strong>and</strong> Sweden.
In economic terms, the cost of road crash injuries is also estimated at roughly 1% of gross
national product in low income countries, 1.5% in middle income countries <strong>and</strong> 2% in
high-income countries (WHO, 2004). This shows that RTIs are not limited to developing
nations but are also universal phenomena. Globally, the annual economic burden of RTI is
estimated to be approximately US$ 518 billion <strong>and</strong> the total annual cost of RTIs for LMICs
is estimated to be approximately US$ 65 billion, which is more than the amount received
through developmental assistance. In Bangladesh, annual cost of RTIs is estimated to be
approximately BDT 45 billion (US$ 76 million).
According to official police statistics 3,160 road traffic deaths were reported in 2003 while
BHIS reported a number of 13,000. In 2015 the reported number by the police (2012) was
2,538 while WHO estimated the number of road traffic deaths to be 21,316. Underreporting
by the police happens due to poor data collection system <strong>and</strong> because the police mainly records
cases where legal action is required. Terrible losses of these lives <strong>and</strong> injuries with consequent
property damages resulting from road traffic crashes have now emerged as serious issues in
Bangladesh affecting the community personally, socially <strong>and</strong> economically.
Investigation reveals that significant numbers of crashes are highly concentrated at few
locations. Such locations with abnormally high concentration of road crashes are identified as
‘Hazardous Road Locations’ (HRL). About 43 percent of national highway crashes concentrated
Report on <strong>Speed</strong> <strong>Management</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Safe</strong> <strong>Crossing</strong> on Dhaka-Sylhet Highway (N2) in Bangladesh 10