Road safety vital for liveable Dhaka (Concluding Part)

Every year of drift on Bangladesh's roads is a year of measurable national loss - in money, health and time that nobody gets back. International research suggests developing countries lose between 3 and 5 percent of GDP annually to road crashes. For Bangladesh, that translates into an economic hit worth several lakh crore Taka a year when medical costs, lost productivity, skilled workers and long-term rehabilitation are taken into account. The BRTA estimates that road accidents cost the country roughly Tk25,000 crore a year.

The cost goes beyond crashes. Potholes shorten the working life of vehicles, while families can slide into economic hardship when a breadwinner is killed or seriously injured. Congestion adds another enormous burden. A World Bank analysis found Dhaka's average traffic speed had fallen over a decade from 21 kilometres an hour to barely 7 - roughly the pace of a bicycle - with around 3.2 million working hours lost to gridlock every day, a figure also reflected in JICA's study of the capital's urban transport.

THE HEALTH CRISIS HIDDEN INSIDE THE TRAFFIC JAM
The public-health toll is less visible than crash statistics but no less serious. Noise levels along major Dhaka thoroughfares, including Gulistan, Farmgate, Mirpur, Uttara, Gabtoli and New Market, range between 90 and 115 decibels, driven largely by unnecessary horn use, including illegal pressure horns. 

Prolonged exposure to traffic-related noise and air pollution has been linked by researchers to headaches, high blood pressure, nausea, asthma, pneumonia, bronchitis, kidney disease, tuberculosis and lung cancer. Hours spent in traffic on broken roads also contribute to back and neck pain, spondylitis and disc problems.

A recent study by the NGO Development Activities of Society (DAS) highlighted another overlooked danger: smoking while driving, which it identified as a significant source of distraction and a potential gateway to harder substance use. An international study of 424 drivers published in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction found that motorists who smoke while driving are more than twice as likely to be involved in a crash as non-smoking drivers.

THE FIRST SIGNS OF A DIGITAL TURN
Dope-test certification is already a formal requirement for public-transport drivers, conductors and supervisors under the Road Transport Rules, 2022. The rules also set minimum educational qualifications - class eight for drivers and class five for conductors - and a minimum age of 20 for conductor or supervisor licences. But regulations mean little when enforcement remains weak.

FIVE PILLARS FOR A ROAD-SAFETY RESET
Genuine reform must bring together five pillars: safe road management, safe infrastructure, safe vehicles, safe road users and effective post-crash care. These must be supported by sustained action against five major behavioural risks - speeding, failure to use seatbelts, substandard helmet use, drink-driving and failure to use child restraints.

For Bangladesh, this means deploying AI-enabled speed cameras, standardised GPS and IoT-based traffic monitoring as part of an enforced system rather than as headline-grabbing technology. It also requires an independent and empowered national road-safety commission capable of coordinating the BRTA, police and city corporations.

REFORM MUST BEGIN AT THE DRIVER'S SEAT
Road-safety education should begin in schools and be reinforced through sustained public-awareness campaigns. Passenger behaviour, too, needs greater attention.

Post-crash care deserves equal priority. Ambulances positioned at 10-kilometre intervals, functioning trauma centres along highways and first-aid training for ordinary bystanders could save lives in the crucial period after a crash.

Public investment must also give greater priority to pedestrians, who account for roughly 30 percent of Dhaka's population. Footpaths, functioning zebra crossings, pedestrian bridges and disability-accessible infrastructure can no longer remain afterthoughts. Better public transport would simultaneously help reduce congestion and crash risks.

Drivers, meanwhile, need a system that protects them as well as passengers: routine eye examinations, defined maximum working hours, rest facilities along major routes and access to counselling. Professional drivers need technical knowledge, familiarity with traffic laws and road signs, sharp reaction times, physical and mental fitness, responsibility and an understanding of modern safety technology.

That requires a comprehensive, publicly accessible national database covering drivers, vehicles, owners and accident histories - a basic administrative tool Bangladesh still lacks in a proper form.

VISION ZERO BEGINS
The global aspiration behind these reforms is Vision Zero - the principle that no road death should be accepted as inevitable. Bangladesh currently ranks 106th among 183 countries assessed by World Health Rankings for road-crash burden and has one of the highest death rates per 10,000 vehicles in Asia.