Road accidents have sharply increased on the 32km stretch of Dhaka-Rangpur Highway near Gaibandha since the last two years, which also significantly raised the number of casualties.
According to data collected by several government bodies, a total of 41 people have died and 362 were injured in 136 road accidents in the area from January 1 to December 31, 2018.
Gobindaganj highway police and local fire service office data shows that in 2017, a total of 86 people died and 178 were injured in 86 road accidents.
Meanwhile, 18 people died and 162 were injured in 74 road accidents in 2016.
In 2015, 30 accidents left 19 dead and 17 injured; and in 2014, 25 accidents left 11 dead and 8 injured.
Police have identified ten major reasons behind the increase in road accidents in Gaibandha, and the fire service identified eight.
Major reasons behind road accidents |
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Addressing the issue, Gobindaganj Fire Service Manager Abdul Hamid said: “The number of accidents will drop if the drivers and helpers are properly trained, the top speed of vehicles are set to an acceptable level through meters and seatbelts are made mandatory for drivers and passengers.”
According to the Gaibandha Roads & Highways Department office, a research team from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) named Accident Research Institute designated seven bends on this highway as accident prone.
All of these bends fall under the 32km stretch of Dhaka-Rangpur Highway near Gaibandha.
Executive Engineer Md Asaduzzaman of Gaibandha Road and Highways Department told the Dhaka Tribune: “Among the nine accident-prone bends in this area, highway is being expanded in five areas, and road dividers are also being built.
“Efforts are on to build dividers in the rest of the nine bends,” he said.
Discussing the matter, truck driver Jaidal Mia said: “Some highway bends prevent us from locating oncoming traffic on time during turns, and it often leads to accidents such as head-on collisions or falling down roadside ditches.”
As part of an initiative to prevent road accidents, district police put signboards in nine accident-prone places back in 2012.
Gobindaganj highway police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Akhtaruzzaman said those signboards have played a role in dropping the rate of road accidents.
Gaibandha Superintendent of Police Abdul Mannan Mia said the administration had built a pit stop for drivers in Boalia area in a bid to curb accidents. Drivers can use the pit stop to rest, wash up and have snacks.