TDS Desk

In the last five and a half years, road, railway, and waterway accidents in Bangladesh have caused human resource losses worth Tk 87,884.12 crore, according to a report by the Road Safety Foundation (RSF).

From 2019 to June 2024, a total of 32,733 accidents were reported across the country, resulting in 35,384 deaths and 53,196 injuries. Among the fatalities, 5,103 were women (14.42%), and 4,785 were children (13.52%).

Motorcycle accidents accounted for a significant portion of the fatalities, with 11,593 deaths from 11,669 accidents, representing 32.76% of the total. The motorcycle accident rate stood at 35.64%. Additionally, 8,358 pedestrians were killed, making up 23.62% of the total fatalities. Drivers and their assistants made up 14.86% of the deaths, with 5,261 individuals losing their lives.

During this period, 587 waterway accidents claimed 1,021 lives, injured 582, and left 369 missing. Meanwhile, 1,403 people were killed and 1,269 injured in 1,228 railway accidents.

The RSF report, based on data from nine national newspapers, seven online news portals, electronic media, and its own sources, highlighted the significant toll accidents have taken on the country.

Accident statistics by road type revealed that 36.48% of accidents occurred on national highways, 35.73% on regional roads, 15.46% on rural roads, and 12.14% on urban roads.

Among the victims, 11,593 (32.76%) were motorcyclists, 1,915 (5.41%) were bus passengers, 2,511 (7.09%) were passengers in goods carrying vehicles (trucks, pickups), and 1,544 (4.36%) were passengers in private vehicles (cars, microbuses).

The report also revealed that the Dhaka division saw the highest number of accidents, with 24.96% of incidents, while the Sylhet division recorded the lowest at 6.29%.

These alarming figures highlight the urgent need for stronger road safety measures and stricter enforcement to reduce the high death toll on Bangladesh’s roads.