With over 150 road accidents causing 50 fatalities so far this year, the 50km stretch of the Dhaka-Chittagong highway from the port city to Mirsharai upazila – has become a death zone for commuters. About 100 others were injured in the accidents that took place between January and September 24 this year, according to newspaper reports.
Concerned traffic officials and engineers said reckless driving, the tendency to overtake vehicles, lack of traffic signs at appropriate locations and roadside markets were the key contributors to the accidents on the route.
The ignorance of pedestrians and drivers about traffic rules, coupled with the flouting of rules by young and new drivers – were also reasons behind the road crashes.
Mainuddin Chisti, a bus driver who has been plying the route for 30 years, told the Dhaka Tribune: “Small vehicles, particularly the CNG-run three-wheelers, are being driven by unskilled drivers. They keep crisscrossing the roads at every opportunity. It disturbs the drivers of large vehicles and ultimately causes accidents.”
Syed Zakir Hossain, officer-in-charge at Baro Awlia highway police camp in Sitakunda, said: “Buses and lorries have to follow the maximum speed limit of 80kmph and 60kmph respectively, but the drivers do not follow the speed limit.”
A total 19 cases were recorded in connection with 27 road crashes in the last eight months on the Chittagong-Mirsharai route, the OC said, adding that about 3,000 cases were lodged against drivers bringing unfit vehicles on the highway.
Most of the accidents go unreported as the families of the victims and transport owners settle the issue between themselves, he said.
The OC however rejected allegations that the highway police neither checked speed limits of vehicles nor monitored traffic regularly.
“We use modern technology to track movement of vehicles on the highway, if any of those exceed the speed limit. Our members at highway check posts also check for drunk-driving and fake driving licences,” he said.
Subhas Barua, a traffic specialist and the vice-president of Forum for Plan Chittagong, said a country like ours needs a three metre shoulder on the side of a road. The four lane Dhaka-Chittagong highway project, he suggested, should include road divider, overpass and underpass to avoid road crashes.
According to the statistics of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, about 1.4m vehicles ply across the country, which require at least 2.8m skilled drivers. But only 960,000 drivers have valid driving licences, while around 1.84m unskilled drivers operate without any valid licence.
Mrinal Chowdhury, president of Bangladesh Road Transport Workers’ Federation (east zone), said the transport workers, especially drivers, cannot evade responsibility for the accidents and casualties on the highways.
“We have already conducted a research on the issue and identified 12 problems with the drivers including rash driving, tendency for overtaking, inexperience, lack of training and knowledge of traffic rules, and drug addiction,” he said.
