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Road safety and traffic congestion

Promoting road safety is vital for enabling discipline and safety in the road transport sector. Every year, thousands of people are killed in road accidents. The losses incurred in road accidents are now a serious burden on the economy. Statistics show that 3,749 fatal accidents occurred in 2007.

Md. Rezaul Karim
NO positive initiative undertaken by the government for reducing traffic congestion in Dhaka city will work Unless here iS'an effective policy to control the number and types of vehicles. The city welcomes 48 thousand motor vehicles a year through Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA). Only 3% of them are buses and 89% are private vehicles, which means that 97% of road capacity is occupied by private and small vehicles. Unfortunately, the policy makers, transport experts, civil society members and transport operators hardly talk about this. If the current trend continues, the traffic system in big cities will go beyond control.
Promoting road safety is vital for enabling discipline and safety in the road transport sector. Every year, thousands of people are killed in road accidents. The losses incurred in road accidents are now a serious burden on the economy. Statistics show that 3,749 fatal accidents occurred in 2007. TIB’s diagnostic study (March 22) conducted on 676 respondents (366 vehicle drivers and 310 owners) reveals that only 19% of the accidents were reported to the police. Another study (Transport Research Laboratory, 2004) also revealed similar incidents of underreporting. Road accidents cost the nation between Tk.700 and Tk.2,400 crore per year, and they affect mainly poor families (BRTA, 2005-07).
Empirical evidence shows that the target to reduce the number of road accidents by 10% lower set in the National Road Safety Strategic Action Plan of 2007-08, but BRTA was not allocated funds, personnel and logistic support to implement it. The Road Safety Cell of BRTA as not functioned for years due to lack of fund allocation. The issuing of vehicle related documents and driving licenses to unfit vehicles and drivers has not only endangered safety on the roads but has also created a scope for a section of traffic police to take bribes.
Despite being a money earning institution (earned Tk.489 crores in 2007-08) BRTA’s role with regard to efficiency, effectiveness, accountability and integrity has been a matter of widespread debate, but nothing is done for unearthing the root-causes and establishing order in transport. This is an attempt to reveal these gaps.
Structural challenges:
• On average BRTA issues 188 vehicle registrations everyday in an unplanned and indiscriminate way;
• School curricula do not include road safety lessons for students. There is also absence of public awareness campaigns on road safety;
• Absence of planning, policy decisions and guidelines to control the number of motor and non-motor vehicles in metropolitan areas;
• Motor Vehicle Ordinance 1983 was meant to regulate traffic but applies to motor vehicles only;
• Dhaka Metropolitan Police Ordinance 1976 has minor provisions against NMVs, regulation not framed for traffic control, not preferred because maximum fine taka 10 only
• Absence of orientation on road safety management issues and lack of incentives for the members of Regional Transport Committee (RTC), Dhaka Transport Coordination Boards, Driving Competency Testing Board (DCTB), RHD, LGED, City Corporations and road safety committees at national, district and upazilla levels:
• DTCB, which is very vital for management of Dhaka transport, has not been made effective. It is believed that DTCB was taken under control of mayor of Dhaka City Corporation in 2005 chiefly to ensure making money from the DTCB’s road projects.
Institutional challenges:
• BRTA is institutionally capable enough to act as a regulatory body, but its manpower has not increased in the last 20 years. Now BRTA cannot execute its functions;
• Control over vehicles, including operation of mobile courts, becomes difficult due to lack of sufficient and trained manpower, logistics and vehicles:
• Vehicle fitness and driving test are hampered due to lack of space and apparatus;
• More than 90% of BRTA’s man-hours are mostly devoted to client services.
As a result, vehicle control and road safety matters are almost ignored;
• Road transport trade unions and transport terminal committees remain under control of political inluence due to absence of accountability and integrity in BRTA;
• Lack of coordination among various service providing government institutions, e.g. BRTA, DTCB, RHD, DCC, Police, Wasa, BTCLetc.
Enforcement by traffic police:
• 74% traffic police have no power of prosecution;
• Traffic police not empowered to investigate accident cases;
• Traffic Control and Public Vehicle Bye-laws 1973: main law for NMV administered by DCC, no power given to traffic police,
• Lack of necessary equipment, i.e. speed gun, breath analyser and vehicles for traffic police;
• Further, the government has approved increased manpower (2,042) for highway police but allocation of money has not been yet included in the revenue budget Challenges related to transport associations:
• Vehicle operators and associations stay outside of transparency and accountability;
• There is no audit system to check how the money from transport associations is spent;
• There are no effective laws and mechanisms to confirm the rights (appointment letter, monthly salarybenefit and ensuring security of job by the employers) of the professionaldrivers.
Recommendations:
Policy level:
• • There must be a policy for motor vehicles in cities areas, specially for Dhaka, to determine the number and types of motor vehicle, and appropriate implementation must be ensured;
• More lessons on road safety should be included in national education curricula;
• Funds should be allocated for carrying out road safety awareness campaigns by BRTA, or by NGOs working at grassroots level;
• The Motor Vehicle Ordinance-1983, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Ordinance 1976 and Traffic Control and Public Vehicle Bye-laws 1973 should be reviewed and updated;
• Punishment described in the Motor Vehicle Ordinance should be stringent and implemented effectively;
• Police surveillance and BRTA-run mobile courts should be increased, and operate on regular basis;
• The community should be involved to compensate for limited traffic police resources;
• Public-private sector partnership may be developed;
• Departmental disciplinary actions along with stern punitive measures should be taken against the employees who issue driving licenses to unfit drivers and certificates for unfit vehicles;
• DTCB must be strengthened institutionally, and kept away from the influence of Dhaka City Corporation;
• Professionals having experience in road transport systems should be
included in RSC, RTC and DC I B
Institutional:
• Regular Coordination should be maintained among the various service providing govt, institution e.g. BRTA, DTCB, RHD, DCC, Police, WASA, BTCLetc;
• Road Safety Cell of BRTA should be brought under revenue budget. Adequate manpower, finance and logistics should be ensured for the RSC;
• BR IA should be equipped with adequate human resource (magistrates) and logistics to ensure regular monitoring of vehicles;
• Driving test and fitness of yehicles may be outsourced to capable and credible institutions;
• Measures should be taken for reporting of all accidents to the police.
Accountability and integrity of transport operators and associations:
• Labour, trade union and transport operators acts must be updated to ensure democratic election of transport association leaders, and their accountability and integrity;
• Minimum qualification of a leader in the transport sector must be ensured;
• The communication and labour ministries should take initiatives to make legal provisions for determining the leadership of transport organisations through secret voting;
• An effective and credible entity may be established to ensure proper operation of transport operators.
The government should make a policy to manage, regulate and control the number and type of motor vehicle in mega cities with immediate effect. Finally, effective measures initiated by the ministry of communications can strengthen the effectiveness of BRTA, DTCB, road traffic agencies and other stakeholders in the road transport system, thereby promoting road safety in Bangladesh. We expect that the present government will address the challenges and remedies mentioned above with due emphasis.
Md Rezaul Karim is a Road Transport Researcher and Fellow. Transparency International Bangladesh E-mail rezaul@&-bangladesh org (This article reflects writer's own views )