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54 accident-prone spots where 400 die, 700 get hurt annually

Raihan Sabuktagin
Accident researchers have identified 54 spots in the city where most of the fatal road accidents take place. On average, 400 people die and about 700 are injured annually at these spots, according findings of a study.
Accident Research Institute (ARI) at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) identified the spots by analysing the accidents recorded at police stations in the city since 1998.
The researchers blamed faulty road design, unscientific road and traffic management for frequent accidents at these spots.
The ARI, formerly Accident Research Centre, a government project for studying accidents, believes the actual number of accidents and casualties will be higher than in the study findings, which are based on police records.
According to the ARI list, Jatrabari crossing is the most deadly traffic intersection in the city where 7/8 people die in road accidents every year.
Farmgate, Kakoli, Bijoy Sarani, Shanir Akhra crossing, Shapla Chattar in Motijheel and Purana Paltan crossing are the other deadly traffic points in the city.
"According to police records, yearly 6/7 people die at most of these spots. The number would have been bigger had all the accidents been recorded with police stations," said Mazharul Hoque, director of ARI and professor of Civil Engineering Department at Buet.
He said the number of accidents and fatalities are increasing at these spots due to inadequate road safety measures.
Giving example of Dhaka Sheraton Hotel crossing, he said, "This point was one of the most deadly intersections in the city but strict handling of traffic and pedestrian movement by police has reduced the number of accidents and fatalities there.”
He stressed the need for ensuring pedestrians' safety as
they constitute 80 percent of total casualties from in road accidents in the city, which was almost half 20 years ago.
Every accident causes some damage and it has a value. ARI researches calculated Tk 65.67 lakh as average cost of every fatal accident occurred in the city in 2006.
The institute could not calculate accident figures of 2007 as information from two police stations were not yet available, said Sohel Alam, a fellow at the research institute.
Asked about the causes of the accidents, he pointed faulty traffic design, pedestrian and driving behaviors and traffic and road management of the city.
Sohel said functional classi-
fication of the city roads has not been considered enough during construction. Scientifically, some roads should be used as main arterial, some should be as connector and some as regional.
“Roads designed for different functions should be designed differently, transport modes should be in consideration. Reality here is that each road carries all kind of transport modes and functions for same purpose,” he added.
Sohel said police records reveal that the number of fatalities is increasing in the city. In 2005, police recorded 496 road accidents among which 265 were fatal. At least 271 people were killed and 240 injured in those accidents.
In 2006, police recorded 603 accidents including 383 fatal, killing 390 people. Although two police stations did not provide information, the number of accidents recorded in other police stations was 696 including 417 accidents that killed 428 people.
Abdush Shakur, another research fellow at the ARI, emphasised establishing adequate bus bays, effective footpath and footbridges to boost up pedestrians' safety.
“Among the accidents 40 percent occurred during road crossing and 40 percent during jaywalking. It is significant because it revealed the behaviour of the pedestrians and lack of safety concern," he said.