Reckless driving, blind curves, and little or no speed reducing measures on the Dhaka-Aricha single carriageway have led to many fatal accidents, said an expert, locals and traffic police of Manikganj.
They said even though this very important highway connects the capital with the southwest, the authorities concerned have not converted the entire road into a dual carriageway or install central reservations through out. The problem is made worse by reckless driving and fearless overtaking on the crowded road.
The Roads and Highways Department, however, does not see any fault in the design of the 80km highway.
The spot in Joka village where five people, including filmmaker Tareque Masud and ATN News CEO Ashfaque Munier Mishuk died Saturday, was a blind curve. Large trees block motorists' view of oncoming traffic.
"You cannot see any oncoming vehicles from one part of the road," Hatem Ali, a resident of the village, told The Daily Star at the spot yesterday.
There are no measures at that portion of the road to force drivers to reduce speed.
Vehicles often fail to remain in their lanes while taking the curve at speed and if they are not very cautious, collisions happen, said Mohammad Babul, another villager. "This is a very dangerous curve. Just last week a cow trader was killed in an accident here."
Boamkesh Sarker, another villager, said on an average they witness at least one accident a month on that stretch of road and they are largely caused by reckless driving.
Tareque's Toyota Hiace was found wrecked in the middle of the road, nearly half of the vehicle was on the wrong lane. Police and locals speculated that the bus heading for Chuadanga could have hit the microbus that strayed from its lane to overtake another vehicle.
Accident Research Institute of Buet in an earlier research identified 22 dangerous spots including blind curves on the highway.
Assistant Prof SM Sohel Mahmud of the institute visited the spot yesterday. He told The Daily Star that there are no speed reducers at any end of the curve. Speed reducers, if not speed bumps, at both ends are imperative to slowing down vehicles for the curve.
"There are no speed bumps at most of these curves," said Murad Mahmudur Rahman, traffic inspector of Manikganj. On Dhaka-Aricha highway there are 28 speed bumps and most are near schools or bazaars, not near curves, he said.
Speed bumps are put in place at a spot only after major accidents, he said, adding that a speed bump was put in place at Mulzan Turn around four months ago after five people died in a crash there.
A local journalist said, "At that time drivers could not see oncoming traffic due to large trees. The tree branches obstructing view were chopped down after the accident."
Last year, two high-ranking government officials were killed in an accident near Paturia-Uthulia intersection on the highway. The Roads and Highways Department built three speed bumps there afterwards, said traffic inspector Mahmudur.
Manikganj Superintendent of Police Mohammad Ali Mia said after the tragic deaths of the two officials last year, his office asked the Roads and Highways Department to put speed bumps before and after every curve and turn, but things have not gone accordingly.
Between Dhaka and Nabinagar of Savar, the highway is a dual carriageway with a central reservation that prevents head-on collisions. Widening of the rest of the road is a must, he said.
Arifur Rahman, superintendent engineer of the Roads Safety Circle of the Roads and Highways Department, however, said, "The road width is alright and the curve is not a problem. It is the speeding and drivers' carelessness that led to Saturday's accident."
Poor visibility due to heavy rain could also have had contributions, said Arifur during a spot visit. He is the chief of the committee formed by the communications ministry to probe the accident.
Additional SP of Manikganj, Zakir Hossain Majumder, who is leading the local probe committee in Manikganj, said they identified heavy rain, the problematic curve, speeding of both vehicles as the primary reasons for the accident.
Source : The Daily Star
