The government is planning measurements to curb highway accidents based on a seven-year-old survey findings, which the surveying agency says is too old for such initiatives because changes may have occurred by this time.
If the relevant department of the government had been more sincere about taking care of these accident-prone places – black spots, as they are called in the survey – chances were high the overwhelming number of highway casualties could have been significantly lowered.
A black spot is a certain section on a highway considered dangerous because it is prone to accidents. For example, there are several black spots on the busy Dhaka-Aricha Highway – the bus stands at Joypurhat, Savar Bazar and Golora/Kamta are some of them.
In 2009, at the completion of a two-year study, the Accident Research Institute (ARI) of Buet came up with a list of 209 such black spots across the country. The researchers followed two methods – (a) compilation of road accident statistics and news reports, and (b) a few field visits.
However, the project titled “Improvement of Road Safety at Black Spot on National Highways,” under which ARI conducted the survey, did not get government approval until five years later.
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) finally approved the project in November 2014.
According to source from the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) – the implementing agency – around 30% of those black spots have so far been remedied since the list was placed in 2009.
But this was not done under the project, but rather because those black spots were located on some of the narrow two-lane highways which have now been reformed into wide four-lane highways. Examples include the Dhaka-Mymensingh and Dhaka-Chittagong Highways – two of the most important highways in the country.
Although late, now when the BRTA is thinking about moving ahead with the project, Buet authorities are saying that the available black spot data is too old and needs updating, otherwise the project would not be of much use.
In December last year, after the ARI drew her attention, Buet Vice-Chancellor Prof Khaleda Ekram wrote to the director of the project saying it would be unsuccessful if implemented with data collected seven years ago.
The letter that the Dhaka Tribune has seen, read that some of the black spots have changed over time. This has happened because some of the roads have lost importance and the lower number of accidents shows this.
There are several reasons why a place on a highway becomes a black spot. Sometimes, because of faulty position of billboards and roadside trees, drivers’ vision gets blocked, especially at sharp or hairpin turnings, leading to accidents.
Remedial of a black spot will differ based on the nature of a road, its surroundings and quality of land.
Black spot treatment varies with the nature of road, surroundings and quality of land. For example, if there is a sharp turn, it could be made sure that there are no billboards and big trees blocking the drivers’ vision.
The ARI found in 2009 that those black spots mainly occurred because road safety audit reports were not properly followed.
As many as 2,349 people were killed in a total of 2,515 accidents at those black spots from 1998 to 2007, the ARI said.
When contacted, Subodh Kumar Saha, executive director (road safety) of the Roads and Highways Department, told the Dhaka Tribune that they had sought two things – an updated list from the ARI and an extension from the government.
Officials said that in primary investigation, they had found that roughly 30% of the black spots from that ARI list are still prone to accidents. Since another study would take time, they now want to move forward with these common spots and in the meantime ARI could do another study.
For example, two new black spots have emerged on the Dhaka-Aricha Highway since 2009 – the Jagir High School point and the Hemayetpur intersection, officials said.
Although the ARI conducted the previous study free of cost, another study might cost around 0.5% of the total Tk165 crore project expenditure.
