Weather Impact on Road Accident in Bangladesh

Abstract

The leading cause of death worldwide is road traffic accidents (RTA). Even though just 54% of the world's registered vehicles come from low- and middle-income nations, 90% of road traffic deaths (RTD) occur in these nations. Road traffic accidents are currently thought to be the ninth most common cause of death worldwide across all age groups, but that number is expected to rise to seventh by 2030. The economies of low- and middle-income nations are developing. The effects of this rising economy include rapid urbanization and motorization. However, infrastructural development policy upgrades are not happening quickly enough to keep up with these more rapid changes in the economy and population. According to research, RTAs cause economic losses in low- and middle-income nations that might amount to 5% of GDP (World Health Organization, 2015). The official statistics show that more than 60 people die in traffic accidents in Bangladesh for every 10,000 motor vehicles (Alford, 2009). The true mortality rate is probably substantially greater. The according to quium, there are still issues with the accident reporting system and the data it produces and official numbers are prone to underreporting (Alford, 2009). While the number of fatalities grew by around 400% during the same time period the number of accidents increased by 43% between 1982 and 2000 (Girard, 2011) Road accidents are a global tragedy, and Bangladesh like many other nations, experiences significant annual losses as a result of these accidents (Donaldson & Lucey, 2018). The number of road users, urbanization, and motorization are all growing, and with the passing time, there are more road accidents and fatalities. To comprehend or asses the situation appropriately accurate and logical accident rates and corresponding trends are needed (Unesco. Research Centre on the Social Implications of Industrialization in Southern Asia et al., 1956). In Bangladesh, there were 62 motor vehicle fatalities per 10,000 registered vehicles in 1985 but there were only 45 in 2007 (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 1973). This drop in mortality was even more dramatic when considering road motor vehicles rather than registered motor vehicles, from 98 in 1985 to 56 in 2007, which should be more representative of the real situation (Figure 1: The Road Traffic Accident Death Toll with Motor Vehicles and Non-Motor Vehicles in China from 2007 to 2016, n.d.). The country’s population doubled from 1971 to 2007, with accidents and fatalities increasing from 1.14 to 3.87 and 0.41 to 2.98 per 100,000 people, respectively, in some temporary fluctuations (Table 1.3. Road Fatalities per 100 000 Inhabitants, per Billion Vehicle-Km and per 10 000 Registered Motor Vehicles, n.d.)In terms of vehicle kilometers, accident and fatalities rates have decreased by 49.08% and 42.77% respectively per 100 million vehicle kilometers from 1999 to 2004 (Thorpe, n.d.)