Over 600 killed in road accidents across Bangladesh in March

At least 604 people were killed and more than 1,000 others injured in road accidents across Bangladesh in March, according to a report published by the Road Safety Foundation today.

The report said a total of 587 road accidents took place during the month, leaving 1,231 people injured. Among the deceased, 89 were women and 97 children.

The foundation said the report was prepared based on information gathered from nine national dailies, seven online news portals, various electronic media outlets, and its own sources.

The highest number of fatalities occurred in motorcycle-related accidents, with 233 people killed, which accounts for 41.22 per cent of all road fatalities.

During the same period, 109 pedestrians were killed, making up 18.04 per cent of the victims, while 98 drivers and transport workers lost their lives, accounting for 16.22 per cent of the deaths.

Apart from road accidents, six waterway accidents were reported in March, resulting in nine deaths and injuries to 14 others.

Meanwhile, 16 railway accidents claimed 19 lives and left four others injured.

According to the vehicle-wise distribution of casualties, 233 of the victims were motorcyclists, making up 38.57 per cent of the total deaths.

A total of 32 bus passengers were killed, while 56 people died in accidents involving trucks, pickups, tractors, trolleys, drum trucks and cargo vehicles. Another 17 victims were passengers of private cars, microbuses, ambulances and jeeps.

Besides, 119 people travelling in three-wheelers such as easy bikes, CNG-run auto-rickshaws and battery-run–vans, lost their lives.

Locally-manufactured vehicles such as nasimon, votvoti, mahindra and tomtom were involved in accidents that killed 27 people. Eleven others who died were cyclists and rickshaw passengers.

The foundation's analysis also revealed that 228 accidents, or 38.84 per cent, occurred on national highways, while 256 or 43.61 per cent happened on regional roads.

Another 72 incidents took place on rural roads and 31 accidents occurred in urban areas.

In terms of the nature of the accidents, 153 incidents were caused by head-on collisions, accounting for 26.06 per cent of the total. The loss of control by drivers led to 258 accidents or 43.95 per cent.

Another 113 incidents, or 19.25 per cent, involved pedestrians being hit or run over, while 47 accidents occurred when vehicles struck others from behind.

Sixteen accidents were reported due to various other reasons.

The report identified 10 major causes behind the rising number of road accidents, including faulty vehicles, reckless driving, unskilled and physically unfit drivers, ignorance of traffic laws, poor traffic management and extortion practices on roads.

To reduce the number of accidents and improve road safety, the Road Safety Foundation made several recommendations.

These include training skilled drivers, regulating drivers' working hours, strengthening the institutional capacity of the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), ensuring strict enforcement of traffic laws, limiting the movement of slow-speed vehicles on highways and improving the country's railway and waterway infrastructure.