503 killed in Bangladesh road accidents in December: RSF report
A total of 503 people lost their lives and 1,186 others were injured in 547 road accidents across the country in December last year, according to data released by the Road Safety Foundation (RSF).
Besides, at least 14 people were killed and five injured in nine waterway accidents while 36 people died and 11 others were injured in 38 accidents involving trains during the same period.
The RSF, an organisation advocating for safer roads, released the figures in a new report on Bangladesh’s accident statistics today, Sunday.
The report was compiled from accident news published in nine national dailies, seven online news portals and electronic media outlets. Motorcycle accidents were the deadliest in December, claiming 204 lives, accounting for 26.04 per cent of all road fatalities.
A total of 238 motorcycle accidents were reported during the month.
Among the road accident victims, 204 were motorcyclists, 14 bus passengers, 42 riders of trucks, covered vans, and pickups, 17 passengers of private cars, microbuses, ambulances, and jeeps, 68 riders of three-wheelers including CNGs, easybikes, and auto rickshaws, 22 riders of locally-made vehicles such as Nasiman and Kariman and five riders of bicycles, pedal rickshaws, and rickshaw vans.
According to RSF analysis, 194 accidents occurred on national highways, 217 on regional roads, 53 on rural roads, 76 on urban roads, and seven in other areas.
The Chattogram division recorded the highest number of accidents with 107 deaths from 122 incidents while Barishal reported the lowest, with 27 deaths from 29 accidents.
The RSF cited several key reasons behind the rising number of road accidents, including faulty vehicles, reckless driving, drivers’ negligence, health issues, irregular wages and long working hours, movement of slow vehicles on highways, risky motorcycling by youths, frequent violation of traffic rules, poor traffic management, inefficiency of BRTA, and extortion in the transport sector.
The organisation urged the authorities to take urgent measures to address these issues and improve road safety across the country.