418 killed in 443 road crash in July: Road Safety Foundation

At least 418 people, including 53 children and 72 women, lost their lives in 443 road accidents across Bangladesh in July, according to a report released by the Road Safety Foundation on Tuesday (August 19).

Another 856 people were injured during the same period.

The report, compiled from national newspapers, online portals, electronic media, and the foundation's own data, highlights a sharp rise in road fatalities, with motorcycles involved in 131 crashes that claimed 109 lives — accounting for 26.08% of total deaths and 29.57% of all reported accidents.

Pedestrians made up 22% of the fatalities (92 deaths), while 56 vehicle drivers and assistants also died, representing 13.40% of the total.

In addition to road crashes, four boat accidents left six people dead, and 21 rail-related incidents killed 18 and injured seven.

Dhaka Division recorded the highest number of accidents (26.41%), with 117 incidents resulting in 105 deaths. Dhaka District alone saw 47 accidents, killing 34 people. In the capital city, 26 road accidents killed 19 and injured 38. Mymensingh Division recorded the lowest accident rate at 7.22%.

Most accidents occurred in the morning, accounting for 29.57% of the total incidents, followed by 21.89% in the afternoon and 15.34% at night. The lowest number of accidents took place in the early morning hours, at just 4.96%.

The Foundation identified 11 key factors contributing to ongoing road fatalities: unfit and faulty vehicles, poor road infrastructure, excessive speeding, driver incompetence and health-related issues, absence of fixed wages and working hours, presence of slow-moving vehicles on highways, reckless motorcycle riding by young drivers, lack of public awareness and compliance with traffic laws, weak traffic management, limited oversight by the BRTA, and widespread extortion in the public transport sector.

To help reduce road accidents, the Foundation has outlined several key recommendations: enhance driver training and skill development; ensure fixed wages and regulated working hours for drivers; strengthen the capacity of the BRTA; enforce traffic laws uniformly for all road users; restrict slow-moving vehicles from highways and build dedicated service roads; construct road dividers on highways in phases; eliminate extortion in the public transport sector; expand and modernize rail and water transport to reduce pressure on roads; implement sustainable transport strategies; and fully enforce the Road Transport Act 2018 without exception.