During the past month, a total of 576 road accidents occurred across the country, resulting in 532 fatalities and 2,221 injuries, according to a report issued by the Road Safety Foundation. Among the deceased were 66 women and 98 children.
The report was published on Saturday morning and compiled using data from nine national daily newspapers, 17 national and regional online news portals, various electronic media outlets, and the organisation’s own monitoring sources.
In addition to road traffic incidents, the report also recorded accidents in other transport sectors. During the same period, 14 waterway accidents resulted in 12 deaths, 27 injuries, and 3 persons reported missing. Furthermore, 48 railway accidents led to 67 deaths and 224 injuries.
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Vehicle-wise fatalities
The breakdown of fatalities by vehicle category is as follows:
| Vehicle category | Number of deaths |
|---|---|
| Motorcycle riders and passengers | 204 |
| Bus passengers | 45 |
| Truck, pickup and tractor occupants | 28 |
| Private cars and microbuses | 46 |
| Three-wheeler passengers (e-bike, CNG, auto-rickshaw, auto-van, leguna) | 94 |
| Locally manufactured vehicles (Nosimon, Pakhivan, Bhottbhoti, Tomtom, Mahindra) | 23 |
| Cyclists | 13 |
Location of accidents
The analysis of accident locations shows the following distribution:
| Location type | Number of accidents |
|---|---|
| National highways | 171 |
| Regional roads | 264 |
| Rural roads | 70 |
| Urban roads | 62 |
| Other locations | 9 |
Types of accidents
According to the report, the nature of the accidents is categorised as follows:
| Type of accident | Number |
|---|---|
| Head-on collision | 166 |
| Loss of control | 231 |
| Pedestrian knockdown or run-over | 86 |
| Rear-end collision | 82 |
| Other causes | 11 |
Vehicles involved
A total of 1,008 vehicles were involved in the reported road accidents. The breakdown is as follows: buses 133, trucks 120, covered vans 37, pickups 41, tractors 16, trailers 6, lorries 7, drum trucks 16, hand trolleys 3, tourist jeeps 2, microbuses 19, private cars 42, ambulances 2, Pajero jeeps 8, motorcycles 244, three-wheelers 200, locally made vehicles 65, bicycles 15, and unidentified vehicles 32.
Regional distribution
The highest number of accidents was recorded in Dhaka Division, where 126 accidents resulted in 137 deaths. In contrast, Sylhet Division recorded the lowest number, with 27 accidents and 26 fatalities.
In the capital city, Dhaka, 46 accidents were reported, causing 28 deaths and 69 injuries.
Causes of accidents
The Road Safety Foundation identified several key contributing factors behind road accidents, including defective vehicles, poor road conditions, excessive speed, reckless driving behaviour, lack of driver competence, and physical or mental unfitness of drivers.
