Desk Report
Publish: 29 Mar 2022, 09:11 pm
File Photo
World Bank today approved $358
million to help Bangladesh improve road safety, and reduce fatalities and
injuries from road accidents in selected high-risk highways and district roads.
The project will help Bangladesh
achieve the Sustainable Development Goals on road safety by 2030, according to
a press release.
In two national highways – N4
(Gazipur-Elenga) and N6 (Natore to Nawabganj) – the project will pilot
comprehensive road safety measures, including improved engineering designs,
signing and marking, pedestrian facilities, speed enforcement, and emergency
care. These measures will help reduce road traffic deaths by more than 30
percent on these two highways, World Bank hoped.
"Road accidents are the
leading cause of permanent disability, and the fourth leading cause for
children's death. They disproportionately affect poor families. For Bangladesh,
improving road safety is a critical economic and development priority,"
said Mercy Tembon, World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan.
"This is the first dedicated
road safety project in South Asia supported by the World Bank. It will help
Bangladesh develop a comprehensive program to improve road safety management
and minimize tragic loss of human lives."
The project will also undertake
road safety pilots in selected urban areas and district roads. It will help
modernize the capacity of the Traffic Police and highway patrol to manage speed and prevent risky road user behavior through instilling a combination
of automated enforcement systems, such as CCTVs, electronic messaging, and
physical measures to slow down traffic speed, including patrol vehicles and
crash scene clearing equipment.
It will improve post-crash care,
which is critical in saving lives and will also set up an ambulance service via
a toll-free number and upgraded emergency care services in selected district
hospitals, and upazila health complexes along the two national highway
corridors.
It will offer training to medical
providers on trauma care and help develop standards, protocols, and operational
policies for emergency medical care services.
Crash database and implement
integrated traffic management and incident detection system will be created
under the project.
ICT systems will support the
integration of existing information systems and databases of vehicle
registration, driver licensing, and payments. The project will undertake
campaigns to create road safety awareness and behavioral change.
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