Road accidents killed 641 in May: Report

At least 641 people were killed in road accidents across the country throughout the month of May, said a report by Road Safety Foundation. 

They were killed in 528 separate accidents that left 1,364 injured. 

Road Safety Foundation published the report Monday (6 June) citing that of the 641 deceased, 84 were women and 97 were children. 

In 247 motorcycle accidents, 279 people were killed, which is 43.52% of the total deaths. Motorcycle accidents comprise 46.78% of all accidents. 

In the meantime, four were killed and two went missing in seven waterways accidents while 17 died and three were injured in 13 train accidents.

The Road Safety Foundation has compiled the report based on data from nine national dailies and seven online news portals and electronic media outlets.

Dhaka division has the highest number of accidents and deaths, with 159 killed in 127 accidents. At least 23 people were killed in 22 accidents in the Sylhet division which is the lowest. 

As a single district, Dhaka district has the highest number of accidents and deaths too as 37 were killed in 32 accidents. The lowest is in Jhalakati district where two people were injured in three accidents, but no deaths were reported.

Road Safety Foundation said the main causes of road accidents in the country include faulty vehicles; overspeeding; the reckless mentality of drivers, their incompetence and physical-mental illness; low-speed vehicles plying on highways; reckless motorcycling of youths and poor traffic management.