5,024 killed in road accidents in 2023: BRTA
The BRTA data on road accident casualties vastly differs from data published by other organisations
The country witnessed a staggering 5,495 road accidents in 2023, with 5,024 people losing their lives and 7,495 sustaining injuries, according to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA).
That means, on an average, 14 deaths and 21 injuries took place per day last year, highlighting the urgent need for improved road safety measures.
BRTA data shows that 7,837 vehicles were involved in accidents that occurred last year. Of those, buses/mini-buses (1,830), motorcycles (1,747), and trucks/covered vans (1,389), were the most involved vehicles in road mishaps.
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The remaining 10 vehicle types were involved in a total of 3,618 accidents, including Auto-rickshaws (497), and Easy-bikes (217).
BRTA Chairman Noor Mohammad Majumdar revealed the grim statistics at a press conference held at its office in the capital's Banani area on Tuesday.
BRTA collects data on road accidents through its divisional offices across the country, providing a comprehensive picture of the nationwide situation.
However, there are some discrepancies between the road accident fatality figures reported by Jatri Kalyan Samity and the official BRTA data.
Just days before, on 14 January, the Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity, a road safety advocacy group, reported that a staggering 7,902 people died and 10,372 others were injured in 6,261 road accidents across the country in 2023.
The report, compiled through analysis of national and regional media reports throughout the year, paints a grim picture of the country's road safety situation.
The BRTA Chairman strongly disputed the Jatri Kalyan Samity report, calling it exaggerated. He emphasised that BRTA regularly publishes comprehensive road accident data on its website.
He also requested people concerned to inform BRTA if they find any conflicting information or any inconsistency.
According to the BRTA report, 333 people were killed and 336 others injured in 322 accidents in January 2023; 303 were killed and 416 injured in 308 accidents in February; 415 were killed and 688 injured in 387 accidents in March; 459 were killed and 705 injured in 476 accidents in April; 394 were killed and 649 injured in 483 accidents in May and 504 were killed and injured 785 in 562 accidents in June.
Additionally, 533 people were killed and 934 injured in 566 accidents in July; 376 were killed and 695 injured in 458 accidents in August; 410 killed and 609 injured in 454 accidents in September; 394 were killed and 492 injured in 437 accidents in October; 470 were killed and 581 injured in 559 accidents in November and 433 were killed and 641 injured in 483 accidents in December.
