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At least 423 people were killed and 674 others injured in 442 road accidents across Bangladesh in September, according to the Road Safety Foundation.
The foundation disclosed the figures in a press release on Sunday.
On average, 14 people were killed in road accidents every day during the month. Of the deceased, 73 were women and 61 were children.
Motorcycle accidents accounted for 154 incidents, killing 139 people, or 32.86% of the total fatalities. Motorcycles were involved in 34.84% of all road accidents during the month.
Pedestrians accounted for 106 deaths, or 25.05% of the total, while 53 drivers and their assistants were killed, representing 12.52%.
During the same period, 11 waterway accidents left 16 people dead, seven injured and four missing. In addition, 23 railway accidents killed 19 people and injured six.
According to the foundation’s analysis, 8.14% of the accidents occurred in the early morning, 24.43% in the morning, 21.26% at noon, 17.42% in the afternoon, 11.76% in the evening and 16.96% at night.
The Road Safety Foundation said most accidents occurred when vehicles lost control due to excessive speed. It called for technology-based speed monitoring and motivational training for drivers to curb reckless driving.
It also recommended large-scale public awareness campaigns through the media and social media to reduce pedestrian deaths caused by reckless driving and lack of awareness among pedestrians.
The report was compiled using information from nine national dailies, 17 national and regional online news portals, electronic media outlets and the foundation’s own data.
The foundation identified defective vehicles, poor road conditions, reckless driving, unskilled or physically and mentally unfit drivers, unregulated wages and working hours, slow-moving vehicles on highways, reckless motorcycle riding by young people, lack of knowledge and compliance with traffic laws, weak traffic management, limited capacity of the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), and extortion in the public transport sector as major causes of road accidents.
Among its recommendations, the foundation called for restructuring the National Road Safety Council and placing the BRTA, Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation and Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority under its supervision.
It also recommended mandatory use of modern vehicle safety technology, removal of unfit and expired vehicles from roads, introduction of modern company-based bus services in Dhaka through route rationalisation, increasing the number of BRTC buses, and improving government transport capacity.
Other recommendations included institutional training to produce skilled drivers, ensuring their wages, working hours and healthcare, appointing gatekeepers at all railway crossings, and improving road safety knowledge and skills among administrative cadre officials.
