A speeding bus from the opposite direction overtook a CNG-run auto-rickshaw and whizzed past the bus these correspondents were travelling by, missing a collision by a whisker.
For a second it looked like there would be a head-on crash and those who watched it began to scream.
This was one of six such close shaves The Daily Star correspondents experienced during a journey from Dhaka to Chittagong. To observe the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway situation, theses correspondents have recently made a visit to the port city and returned to the capital on passenger buses.
One of the most disturbing things for drivers on this highway is simultaneous movement of slow and fast moving vehicles.
It was seen in Daudkandi in Comilla that a human-paddled rickshaw suddenly moved to the middle of the highway from its extreme left position. The bus braked hard to avoid crushing the three-wheeler.
Bus drivers say the slow-moving vehicles often cause serious problems for them, adding, those vehicles should not be allowed on the highways to avoid accidents.
The CNG-run three-wheelers create serious problems and increase the chances of accident from Alankar in Chittagong to Bariar Hat, says Mizanur Rahman, driver of a luxury coach Scania of Green Line.
Sixty percent accidents occur due to small vehicles like auto-rickshaws, observes Mokhlesur Rahman, driver of Baghdad Paribahan.
During the journey something malfunctioned in the Scania bus as it was jerking when the speedometer went up. The middle-aged driver, cellphone in one hand and steering in the other, called the company and expressed his annoyance over the matter.
Throughout the eight-hour-long journey he talked over the phone several times while driving the bus. The driver of the bus during the return journey also made calls several times.
Use of mobile phones while driving is very common on the highway as some more drivers of the passing buses were seen on the phone.
“The drivers show unique quality while driving with one hand and using mobile phone with the other,” commented a passenger.
All through the journey the drivers on both sides of the road were seen breaking the traffic rules wherever possible. A sign on the road showed vehicles should not exceed 40-kilometre speed limit there, but the speedometer read 70 kilometres per hour.
Other buses were also crossing those signs at similar speed. Trucks and buses were engaged in an unhealthy competition of overtaking even near narrow turnings where “No overtaking” signs warn of any such move.
There are around 100 narrow curving spots on the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway.
Chances of a crash have increased due to lack of road divider, say many drivers. There is road divider in between Dhaka and the Daudkandi Bridge in Comilla where accidents occur much less than elsewhere of the road.
On the way to Chittagong a truck loaded with apples was seen lying upside down in a roadside ditch in Raipur. A big lorry was seen in a similar position in Nizampur in Mirersharai on the way back to Dhaka.
Drivers say such accidents are very common on the highways. They mainly blame it on the bumpy roads and potholes at different points. Around three kilometres road from Mirersharai Bazar to Baray Hat is miserably bumpy and in very bad shape.
Md Khalilur Rahman, driver of Green Line service on Dhaka-Chittagong route, said there are big potholes at different places of the highway that cause huge problems for them.
“Some drivers, mostly truck drivers who are new to the road, do not have any idea about these potholes.” This causes accidents, Khalil observed.
On violation of traffic laws, he said, “Sometimes I also cannot maintain that but we try to be careful when we overtake a vehicle.”
He also said sometimes competitions between vehicles also cause accidents. Apart from this, most of the truck drivers are not trained and most of the time helpers drive the trucks and cause accidents.
According to the statistics from the Accident Research Institute at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, there are 38 risky points on Dhaka-Chittagong Highway where accidents occur frequently.
Among these places highest 55 accidents occurred at Narayanganj Road Intersection, 44 in Madhya Bauchia Bus Stand and 39 in Feni-Laxmipur Intersection in between 1998 to 2007, said Kazi Zakaria Islam, assistant professor of the Accident Research Institute.
