Working together for road traffic safety in Dhaka

OC Global is working towards enhancing the implementation capacity of comprehensive road traffic safety measures by local police.

Challenges

How can we change people’s attitudes and increase their interest in road traffic safety?

In the Dhaka metropolitan area of Bangladesh, the number of registered vehicles has increased five-fold from approximately 200,000 in 2013 to 1,000,000 in 2018, due to economic growth and population increase. Consequently, issues such as road traffic congestion and crashes have become severe.

Under these circumstances, the government of Bangladesh has formulated the “National Road Traffic Safety Strategy Action Plan” nine times since 1997 as a strategic plan for national road traffic safety, and has been promoting road safety initiatives across ministries and agencies.

As the 8th Action Plan, which covers the period of 2018-2020, failed to achieve its goal of halving the number of traffic incidents, the 9th Action Plan, which covers the period 2021-2024, aims to reduce the number of traffic incidents by 20-25% by 2024 and to achieve a 50% reduction by 2030.

In order to achieve these goals, measures should be taken in the Dhaka Metropolitan Area, where traffic volume and crashes are particularly high in Bangladesh: immediate action is needed.

The metropolitan police (government counterpart) has carried out traffic incident data collection, traffic regulations, and drivers’ education. However, insufficient data on vehicle crashes hinder proper analysis, appropriate enforcement and traffic safety education based on traffic analysis.

Services

OC Global has provided comprehensive technical cooperation that aims to enhance the capabilities of traffic safety education and awareness, strengthen the capacity for traffic incident data collection and analysis, and improve planning and implementation capabilities for traffic safety in the Dhaka metropolitan area.

Two and a half years of the four-year project have been completed. The following two activities have been successfully implemented.

1. Poster and Slogan Contest on Road Safety

The poster and slogan contest aims to raise awareness among students, empowering them as responsible road users and safety ambassadors in collaboration with local schools, incorporating common practices of Japan. Elementary school students participated in the poster contest and 170 posters were submitted, while college students participated the slogan contest with 410 slogans received. An awards ceremony was also held. Audiences were delighted to congratulate the winners on their creative works. The awardees received the certificate along with a gift.

2. Pilot Project – Safe Bus Boarding and Alighting at The Kakoli Bus Layby

It is quite common to read news of traffic incidents related to bus passengers while boarding and alighting in Dhaka. While the study team had field visits to check the safety issues in the Dhaka Metropolitan Area, it has been observed that unsafe bus boarding and alighting causes serious safety concerns for the users. Therefore, a pilot project on safe bus boarding and alighting through proper utilization of the bus layby has been proposed and carried out to enhance the following:

  • Safety awareness among the passengers to get on and off safely at the bus stop.
  • Safety awareness among the bus drivers to only take passengers from the bus layby as instructed by the police.
  • General road safety awareness among all road users in Dhaka city.

OC Global currently looking into the possibility of implementing this program at other locations.

Result

OC Global is seeking to enhance the comprehensive implementation capacity of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police in road traffic safety measures, contributing to a reduction in the number of road traffic incidents and casualties in the Dhaka metropolitan area.

Link

DMP News – Dhaka Road Traffic Safety Project (DRSP) competition award winning posters and slogans released

Facebook post by JICA Bangladesh

ロケーション
バングラデシュ
正式名称
ダッカ交通安全プロジェクト
プロジェクトタイプ
Technical Cooperation
クライアント様
Japan International Cooperation Agency
提供サービス
能力開発・強化研修
プロジェクト期間

2021 – Present

持続可能な開発目標(SDGs)

OC Global contribute to reducing fatalities and injuries from road traffic crashes in Bangladesh, aiming to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

“It is necessary to spread safety education to people in Dhaka so that more people can be made aware of road safety.”
Md. Munibur Rahman, Project Director & Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Dhaka Metropolitan Police, 2023