Improving Road Safety
in the OIC Member States
83
Section 3: CASE STUDIES
9 Case Study: Bangladesh
9.1 Introduction
Bangladesh has been selected as one of the case studies. Road transportation is the major mode
of transport in Bangladesh. Over 70 % of passenger travel and much of general goods movement
occur on roads and highways (Mazharul Hogue et al., Road Safety in Bangladesh and Some
Recent Advances). Road transportation is vitally important to the economic and social welfare,
however, each year thousands of people are killed and injured on roads in Bangladesh. These
losses of lives and injuries affect Bangladesh socially and economically (Abdul Hamid, Road
Safety Situation in Bangladesh). Consequently, the challenge Bangladesh is facing, like many
other countries in the world, is maintaining the role of transportation in general, and the road
sector specifically, as a catalyst for socio-economic development, while improving road safety
by minimizing accident hazards and risks and consequently reducing people killed and injured
on roads.
Bangladesh, a country having an area of 147,570 km2 and a population of around 156 million,
has about two million motorized and could be over three million non-motorized vehicles
(Mazharul Hogue)). Of the motorized vehicles about 67% are 2 and 3 wheeler vehicles and the
rest are vehicles of different categories, such as cars, jeeps, buses, truck, pick-ups, etc. Among
the 2 and 3 wheeler vehicle around 85 % are motorcycle, as indicated i The number
of vehicles is steadily increasing along with the increase of road mileage (World Health
Organisation, 2014; 2015).
Good quality roads have been constructed in recent years, adding speed to transportation and
frequency of movement of people. Simultaneously, the number of road accidents has also soared
highly. It is feared that with the continued expansion of the road network and the growth of
traffic, this adverse trend is to continue in the future, unless effective remedial measures are
taken with co-ordination of all concerned agencies through national action plans (National Road
Safety Council, 2013).
9.2 Road Safety Performance
Police reported road accidents in Bangladesh claim, on an average, about 2,800 lives and injure
another 5,200 each year (Accident Research Institute, 2014). It should be noted that the sources
of these figures are police reports, which are based on the definition of “died at scene of crash”.
WHO in its annual Global Status Reports on Road Safety (2015), included annual estimated road
traffic fatalities of over 20,000 and a mortality rate, defined as rate of road safety casualties per
100,000 population, of 13.6.