481 killed in road crashes in August, up from July

A total of 513 road crashes across the country in August left 481 people dead and 664 injured. The dead included 61 women and 58 children. Motorcycles accounted for 36.59 per cent of all road deaths, with 176 people killed in motorcycle crashes.

These figures were reported by the Road Safety Foundation in its monthly report for August. The organisation compiled the report based on information from nine national dailies, 17 national and regional online news portals, various electronic media outlets and its own data.

The report said 183 motorcycle crashes occurred in August, accounting for 35.67 per cent of all road crashes. In addition, 102 pedestrians were killed, representing 21.20 per cent of the total deaths. Sixty-seven vehicle drivers and assistants were also killed.

By road type, regional roads recorded the highest number of crashes in August, with 217. There were 163 crashes on national highways, 62 on rural roads and 71 on roads in urban areas.

An analysis of the types of crashes showed that 195 occurred after vehicles lost control. Another 126 were head-on collisions, 106 involved pedestrians being run over or hit, and 78 involved vehicles crashing into the backs of other vehicles. Eight crashes occurred for other reasons.

Among the divisions, Dhaka recorded the highest number of crashes, with 172 incidents resulting in 144 deaths. Barishal recorded the lowest, with 15 crashes and 14 deaths. Among individual districts, Bogura recorded the highest number of deaths, at 37. In the capital, 48 crashes left 23 people dead and 54 injured.

An average of 15.51 people were killed in road crashes every day in August. The daily average in July was 13.41 deaths. By that measure, fatalities increased by 15.65 per cent in August.

Road Safety Foundation Executive Director Saidur Rahman said excessive speed was one of the major causes of crashes. Other factors included defective vehicles and roads, reckless attitudes and lack of skills among drivers, long working hours, slow-moving vehicles on highways, reckless motorcycle riding by young people, violations of traffic laws and weak traffic management.

To reduce road crashes, the organisation has recommended technology-based speed monitoring, driver training, removal of unfit and expired vehicles from the roads, initiatives to develop skilled drivers, safer road design and the appointment of gatekeepers at railway crossings. It also emphasised the need for extensive campaigns to raise awareness among road users.