Performance evaluation of road safety measures: a case study of the Dhaka-Aricha highway in Bangladesh

The Dhaka-Aricha highway plays a vital role in interregional road transport in Bangladesh. In the past, this highway was considered as a man-made death trap owing to the frequency of fatal accidents. With accident reduction as one of the chief objectives, a major rehabilitation of the highway, including safety improvements at three black-spot areas, was undertaken during the period 1995-2002. An attempt has been made in this paper to evaluate the effectiveness of safety improvement measures. Their effectiveness was evaluated by applying the “before-after” and “control-site” methods. Findings from the analyses suggest that safety improvement measures were very effective in reducing the frequency as well as the severity of accidents. In economic terms, the estimated benefits from accident savings far outweighed the investment costs of safety improvements.