News Desk : dhakamirror.com
At least 519 people died in 458 road accidents across Bangladesh in August, according to a report compiled by the Road Safety Foundation (RSF).
Among the deceased were 64 women and 69 children.
Another 961 people were injured in the accidents last month.
Meanwhile, 172 people have been killed in 183 motorcycle accidents – accounting for 33.14% of all deaths.
About 109 pedestrians were killed in road accidents, accounting for 21% of all deaths.
On the other hand, 74 vehicle drivers and helpers were killed, accounting for 18.11% of all deaths recorded in August.
During the same period, eight people died in eleven boating accidents.
While at least 24 people died and nine others were injured in 23 railway accidents.
The RSF based its findings on the reports of nine national daily newspapers, seven online news portals and electronic media.
Of the total accidents, 252 occurred on national roads, 199 on regional roads, 109 on rural roads, 64 on city roads and eight elsewhere, the report said.
The report states that 27.72% of the accidents occurred in Dhaka Division, 15.28% in Rajshahi, 21.61% in Chattogram, 10.08% in Khulna, 8.80% in Barishal, 4.14% in Sylhet , 8.95% in Rangpur and 7.42% in Mymensingh.
The highest number of accidents was recorded in the Dhaka division, where 242 people lost their lives in 127 accidents. 21 people were killed in the Sylhet division, the lowest compared to other divisions, the report added.
The RSF pointed out several main reasons for the increase in the number of traffic accidents.
Reasons include faulty vehicles; reckless driving; desperate mentality, incompetence and illness of drivers; unclear wages and working hours; the proliferation of slow-moving traffic on freeways; reckless motorcycling of youth; the tendency to disobey traffic rules, poor traffic management; inefficiency of the BRTA; and extortion in the sector.
Accidents involving high-speed vehicles, including trucks and motorcycles, have increased dramatically. No government initiative is evident in this situation, RSF added in a statement released on Saturday.
The authorities concerned are not interested in the implementation of the Road Transport Act-2018.
In order to improve this situation, it is necessary to formulate and implement sustainable road transport strategies. This requires political will from the government, adds the RSF statement.