458 road accidents claim 589 lives in March: Survey
As many as 458 road accidents have claimed 589 lives including 61 women and 96 children across the country throughout the month of March, according to Road Safety Foundation.
647 more people sustained injuries during this period.
The private organisation Road Safety Foundation released a report on road accidents on Monday.
The organisation prepared the report based on the news published in seven national dailies, five online news portals and electronic media.
According to the organisation, bike accidents killed the highest number of 221 people, which are 32.52 per cent of total fatalities, followed by pedestrians accounting 27.50 per cent of the deaths.
Some 38.42 per cent of people killed in motorcycle accidents are bikers.
Among the vehicles, trucks, covered vans and pickups are mostly involved in road accidents – some 28.76 per cent, followed by motorcycles (22 per cent), three-wheelers (16.12 per cent) and bus (13.71 per cent).
March saw the highest 39.08 per cent of road crashes on regional roads, 36.46 per cent on national highways and 14.84 per cent in rural roads.
Dhaka division saw the highest number of 117 road accidents, killing 181 people while Sylhet division reported the lowest number of 26 road crashes, claiming 35 lives. Dhaka as a district also witnessed the highest number of 33 road crashes, killing 37 people while Narayanganj district saw the lowest number of 19 road crashes, claiming 21 lives.
When considering the victims identity, students topped the tally.
According to Road Safety Foundation, death in road accidents rose 13.83 per cent in March killing 19 people a day. Some 78.60 per cent of the road crash victims are working people aged 18 to 65.