Road accidents killed 3 students daily on average over past five and a half years: Study

A total of 5,916 students have died in road accidents in the last five and a half years. In this period, three students have lost their lives on the street daily. This information has surfaced in the latest study conducted by Road Safety Foundation that works with road accident.

The data was presented in a press conference titled ‘Student Fatalities in Road Accidents: Statistics and Analysis’ held at the Road Safety Foundation’s office in capital’s Dhanmondi area today, Saturday. The press briefing was held marking the 13th anniversary of Mirsarai tragedy day.

Chairman of Road Safety Foundation, professor AI Mahbub Uddin Ahmed presented the written report at the time. Road Safety Foundation has conducted the study based on newspaper reports and their own research.

The report shows that a total of 34,478 people have been killed in road accidents since 2019 till June this year. And, more than 16 per cent of them are students. About 50 per cent of these students have died in motorcycle accidents and the maximum number of accidents occurred indeed on regional roads.   

The report stated that the number of deceased school and madrasa student aged between 5 and 17 is 2,641 and the number of dead college or university students aged between 18 and 25 is 2,978.

According to Road Safety Foundation’s study, 2,783 students have died as motor bike riders and pillions. This is almost half of the total students killed in road accidents. Meanwhile, total 1,534 students have died as pedestrians being run over by vehicles, 721 students have died as passengers of vehicles, 497 students have died as bicycle riders and 84 students have died from their clothes or scarves being entangled with the wheels of auto rickshaws.

The study has mentioned several reasons behind the deaths of students on streets. These include faulty roads, unsafe vehicles, lack of knowledge about using roads in safety, lack of arrangements for road safety trainings in educational institutes, students’ reckless motor bikes riding, not knowing the traffic rules or the tendency of not abiding by them and the unhealthy political culture.  

Road Safety Foundation presented their own observation in the report. According to the organisation, innumerous huge accidents have occurred till recent times. However, no long term and sustainable plans are being implemented to establish order in the road transport sector.

The initiatives that are being taken are somewhat unscientific and uncoordinated. A long term coordinated and sustainable transport strategy has to be implemented if order has to be established in the country’s chaotic road transport sector. Plus, it’s essential to ensure unrestrained implementation of the road transport act.  

Road Safety Foundation says that the vested quarters of the road transport sector are the main obstruction towards implementing the initiatives of bringing order back on streets. This group of people maintain the chaos on roads for the sake their corruption and extortion.

Committees are formed and recommendations are made to establish order in public transport now and then. But none of the recommendations are implemented for real. Basically the initiatives of establishing order in country’s road transport sector are revolving within forming committees and making recommendations only. But there’s no development to the situation in reality.

Quite a few recommendations were made at the press conference to reduce deaths of students on roads. Organising campaigns about road safety in educational institutions once every year, providing road safety trainings to teachers on government initiative, including questions related to road safety in class tests, raising awareness through media campaign, banning unsafe vehicles, ensuring safety measures on the roads surrounding educational institutes and ensuring strict implementation of law to prevent underage motorbike driving are notable among them.

On 11 July 2011, a pick-up van carrying students on their way back from playing the Bangabandhu-Bangamata Gold Cup football tournament at Mirsrai Stadium lost control and overturned into a roadside pond, killing 45 people including 42 students.

Since then the day has been observed locally as ‘Mirsrai Tragedy Day’. Road Safety Foundation has demanded for the day to be observed nationally. The organisation believes observing the day in all educational institutes will raise awareness about road safety among the students.

Road Safety Foundation executive director Saidur Rahman, vice chairman Syed Jahangir, Ferdous Khan, treasurer Zahidul Islam, Mohammad Shahjahan Siddique and others were present in the press conference.