To start on Dhaka-Ctg highway, then other highways to check accidents
The government will introduce a monitoring system by next April to control vehicle speed on Dhaka-Chittagong highway in a bid to curb road accidents.
Other highways across the country will be brought under the system in phases, said a Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) official.
The project is now in its initial stage and might require six months to be implemented, he said.
The decision for speed monitoring came following a High Court order that asked the government to take effective steps to ensure road safety in highways.
The BRTA has recently sought proposals and recommendations from expert individuals and firms having expertise in this matter.
“Initially, we have invited proposals or suggestions from experts for a system suitable for the country and viable strategies to implement the project,” said Tapan Kumar Sarkar, director (enforcement) of BRTA.
A committee comprised of 11 members of different government agencies has been formed to scrutinise the proposals and recommendations to introduce an effective system with a combination of a central monitoring cell, speed guns, speed sensors, data networking and CCTVs, said Saiful Haque, director (engineering) of BRTA.
Shamsul Haque, director of Accident Research Institute (ARI), said two kinds of mechanism should be introduced to make the system a success.
First, speed gun meters should be distributed among highway police and then there should be a central monitoring system to watch and penalise the vehicles that cross the speed limit, he observed.
According to an ARI study, about 26,000 vehicles of different kinds ply Dhaka-Chittagong highway every day.
Referring to a police report, an ARI official said over 200 people die every year in road accidents on Dhaka-Chittagong highway while over a thousand sustain injuries.
Communication Secretary Mozammel Haque Khan told The Daily Star that the aim of introducing the system is to ensure road safety.
On the budget for the project he said it depends on the mechanism the government would opt for.
Sohrab Hossain, deputy inspector general (DIG) of highway police, said they have some speed detectors but they are not sufficient compared to the need.
He said, “Manpower shortage makes checking of all the vehicles on highways impossible. However, a few are checked when the highway police are on duty.”
