Tyre burst behind bus accident on Bangabandhu Expressway: Buet
Number of deaths in the accident would have been much lower if there were no faults in the design of the expressway
A tyre burst was the primary cause of a bus accident on the Dhaka-Bhanga Expressway which killed 19 people on 19 March, according to a report by the Accident Research Institute (ARI) of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet).
ARI Director Dr Shamsul Haque, who presented the key findings of the report yesterday, also said the faulty design of the road increased the number of casualties in the accident.
He also said that the driver was driving a heavy vehicle with a medium vehicle driving license. However, the driver was in the process of getting a heavy vehicle driving licence.
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The number of deaths in the accident would have been much lower if there were no faults in the design of the 21 feet high expressway, Shamsul Haque commented at the event.
Moreover, he said, having no service road or recovery road is a major drawback of that part of that expressway constructed at a huge cost.
The ARI director also warned that due to the large variation in the height of the hard shoulder with the main road, such accidents may occur more.
He also said that 222 crashes with 264 fatalities have occurred on this expressway from June 2022 to March 2023 period, about 1 fatality per day.
He suggested that only the construction of high-standard capital-intensive infrastructure is not enough to ensure safe mobility.
"There is a need for matching expressway worthy fit vehicles, competent drivers, standard road safety devices, and most importantly well enforced safe and disciplined traffic operating conditions," he added.
On 19 March, A bus of Emad Paribahan plunged into a ditch at around 7:30 in the morning after the driver lost control on the Padma Bridge Expressway at Shibchar of Madaripur.
The accident left 19 people dead, and 25 more were injured.
