Experts on road safety and police officials have said that police skills on scientific road crash investigations should be enhanced. If police would identify the major causes of road crashes through an evidence-based investigation, it can ultimately reduce premature death on the roads, they added.
They said these while speaking at a training programme held at Hotel InterContinental Dhaka. The two-day training ended on Tuesday (17 June).
Police officials from the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) received the training from the international organization Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP).
Sheikh Md. Sajjad Ali, commissioner of DMP, attended as chief guest at the closing ceremony with Abdul Wadud, a former additional secretary and Initiative Coordinator of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) Dhaka; in the chair. Md. Sarwar, additional commissioner (traffic) of DMP; spoke at the event as the special guest, while Engineer Khandaker Mahbub Alam, superintendent engineer at Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC); Brett Harman, Asia Pacific Manager of GRSP; and Peter Jones, Senior Road Policing Adviser; were also present at the event. Golam Hossain, enforcement coordinator of BIGRS; Rezaur Rahman, transport coordinator; Dr. Tanvir Ibn Ali, surveillance coordinator; and Aminul Islam Sujon, technical adviser of Vital Strategies; were present at the event.
In his speech, Sheikh Md. Sajjad Ali said that it a major challenge for the police to ensure law-and-order in general and to manage the traffic system in the crowded Dhaka city. “We have requested the political parties including BNP to avoid political events on working days on the streets. This creates enormous suffering for all road users across the city,” he said.
He emphasized on enhancing police skills on scientific road crash investigations. “Our traffic division manages traffic vehicles on the roads, while the crime division investigates road crashes. We will take the necessary measures to ensure effective coordination between traffic and crime divisions to ensure proper investigation of road crashes,” he said.
The DMP chief also said that it is necessary to follow traffic rules in order to reduce road crashes. Most road users do not follow traffic rules, especially issues like speeding, sudden lane change or sudden road crossings which are major causes for road crashes. In Dhaka, most crashes occur between midnight to early morning due to speeding when the roads are relatively empty.
To prevent crashes, he instructed police officers to enforce the existing law related to road safety including the speed limit set on the roads.
As part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS), an international network committed to reducing road traffic crashes, deaths, and injuries, GRSP conducted two training courses on 16 and 17 June on road crash investigation.
A total of 60 officers from DMP attended these training courses. Brett Harman and Peter Jones of GRSP conducted the training sessions.
The training aims to provide police officers with advanced knowledge to identify key issues of road crash investigation including crash attendance, principal direction of force for road crashes, evidence from road crash scene, evidence from vehicles and it’s tyres, mathematical issues of road crash, importance of scene diagrams and case study, photography as a medium of evidence etc.
The experts also discussed why crash investigation is important to reduce premature death on the road. They share global best practices on road crash investigation, and Haddon Matrix – a known matrix used for road crash investigation. By incorporating successful road crash investigation strategies from both international and national contexts, the goal is to reduce road-related deaths and injuries.
