Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, is the most vulnerable city both in terms of total number of accidents and accident rates. A total number of 2,720 accidents occurred during 2007-2011. This has caused a total of 1,481 numbers of pedestrian fatal accidents with 1,562 pedestrian fatal casualties. The primary objective of the paper is to study the characteristics of the road traffic accidents in Dhaka. The study area for this study is Dhaka Metropolitan Area. The paper focused on a few selected parameters a) Trend in overall accident rates b) Monthly variation of accident rates c) Accidents by severity levels d) Collision types e) Accidents in different lighting conditions. The raw data in the form of Accident Report Forms (ARFs) were collected from Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP). A GIS database was prepared for accidents showing locations and details for the period of 2007-2011. The analysis showed that on an average, the total number of traffic accidents is reduced by 11% each year. No profound effect of weather/season on road accidents is found. Fatal accidents and motor collisions are decreasing while injury accidents are increasing. Most traffic accidents: cause fatality (69%) and hit a pedestrian (60%). Fifty four percept of the accidents occurred during daytime. The paper recommends improvement measures for the road accident data collection and management system in Dhaka, Bangladesh. That includes the training need for the police staff, need for a geo-referenced database for data storage and management and involvement of multiple agencies in the process. This paper also recommends further studies on the extent and characteristics of underreporting of accidents. (Author/publisher)
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