In June of this year, 398 people were killed in 327 road accidents in the country. 423 people were injured. Road accidents are fewer in June compared to May. In May, 562 people were killed in 441 accidents. On average, 18.12 people were killed per day. In June, 13.26 people were killed per day. However, the number of road accidents and fatalities was low because traffic was closed in various district cities due to area-based lockdowns for half of June and public transport was closed across the country due to a total lockdown from June 28, according to the Road Safety Foundation, which works on road accidents.
The organization has claimed that motorcycles and trucks have become a serious threat to road safety. Due to reckless motorcycle riding by minors and youths, they are becoming victims of accidents themselves and putting other vehicles at risk. Therefore, considering the situation, the Road Safety Foundation has demanded a coordinated and sustainable initiative to prevent road accidents.
A report published by the foundation yesterday showed that 52 women and 33 children were among the dead in road accidents in June. 152 people were killed in 142 motorcycle accidents, which is 37.93 percent of the total deaths. The motorcycle accident rate is 43.42 percent. 94 pedestrians were killed in accidents. 67 vehicle drivers and assistants were killed.
Two people were killed and one injured in two boat accidents last June. In addition, one person was killed in a railway accident, the report said. It is learned that the foundation prepared the report based on information from seven national dailies, five online news portals and electronic media.
Their observations and analysis show that of the accidents, 115 (35.16 percent) occurred on national highways, 127 (38.83 percent) on regional roads, 51 (15.59 percent) on rural roads, 30 (9.17 percent) on city roads, and four (1.22 percent) in other locations.
According to the Road Safety report, 3.97 percent of road accidents occurred in the early morning, 25.7 percent in the morning, 22.93 percent in the afternoon, 19.57 percent in the afternoon, 7.3 percent in the evening and 21.40 percent of accidents occurred at night. Last June, the highest number of accidents and fatalities occurred in Dhaka division. 103 people died in 86 accidents. The lowest number was in Sylhet division. 22 people died in 23 accidents. As a single district, Mymensingh district had the highest number of accidents and fatalities. 32 people died in 19 accidents. The lowest number was in Narail district. Although there were two accidents, no one was injured.
Saidur Rahman, the organization's executive director, said that road accidents in the country are mainly caused by 10 reasons. These are: defective vehicles, reckless speeding, incompetence and physical and mental illness of drivers, lack of fixed wages and working hours, slow-moving vehicles on the highway, reckless motorcycle riding by young people, ignorance and disobedience of traffic laws among the public, poor traffic management, lack of capacity of BRTA, and extortion in the public transport sector.
