441 killed, 1,128 injured in road crashes in October: Road Safety Foundation

A total of 441 people were killed and 1,128 injured in 486 road accidents across the country in October, according to a report released on Wednesday (November 19) by the Road Safety Foundation.

The report, compiled from national newspapers, online media and the organisation’s own data, was shared by its executive director Saidur Rahman.

The report says 137 people died in 192 motorcycle accidents. Additionally, nine waterway accidents left 11 dead and four missing, while 43 people were killed in 46 railway accidents.

Dhaka Division recorded the highest number of crashes with 121 accidents, though 12 deaths were reported. Sylhet Division saw the lowest number of accidents—26—but 24 deaths.

Among the victims were 137 motorcyclists and pillion riders, 30 bus passengers, 24 passengers of trucks, pickups and covered vans, seven private car and microbus passengers, 103 passengers of three-wheelers, 34 passengers of locally made vehicles and eight rickshaw or bicycle riders.

The report notes that daily road fatalities in October increased by 5.75 percent from September.

Of the accidents, 166 occurred on national highways, 148 on regional highways, 81 on rural roads and 87 on urban roads. The types of crashes included 99 head-on collisions, 217 loss-of-control incidents, 103 pedestrian run-overs and 60 rear-end collisions.

The Foundation identified several main causes: faulty vehicles, poor road conditions, speeding, unskilled drivers, long working hours, slow vehicles on highways, reckless motorcycle riding by youths, traffic rule violations, weak traffic management, BRTA’s limited capacity and extortion in public transport.

To reduce accidents, it recommended improving driver training, fixing drivers’ salaries and working hours, strengthening BRTA, stricter enforcement of traffic laws, removing slow vehicles from highways, building service roads, installing dividers on all highways, ending extortion in public transport, improving rail and water transport, implementing sustainable transport policies and enforcing the Road Transport Act 2018 properly.