UNB:

The month of September saw 493 road accidents in Bangladesh, leaving 498 people dead and 978 injured, according to a report by Jatri Kalyan Samity.

Samity General Secretary Mohammad Mozammel Haque Chowdhury shared the findings at a press conference in the capital on Thursday.

The report says there were 40 railway accidents that claimed the lives of 37 people, while four were injured. Besides, 14 accidents on waterways left 19 people dead, 56 injured and 47missing.

According to the report, motorcycle accidents accounted for 195 deaths and 149 injuries, representing 38.94% of total accidents, 39.15% of fatalities and 15.23% of injuries.

Chattogram Division experienced the highest number of road accidents in September, with 116 accidents resulting in 109 deaths and 251 injuries, while Barishal Division reported the least, with only 26 accidents, leading to 23 deaths and 48 injuries.

VICTIM DEMOGRAPHICS

The report indicates that among those who lost their lives in road accidents this month were 10 members of law enforcement, 109 drivers, 87 pedestrians, 49 transport workers, 51 students, 12 teachers, 68 women, and 56 children.

Among the 792 vehicles involved in accidents, motorcycles comprised 27.52%, trucks and pickups 21.71%, and buses 13.25%.

CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS

The Jatri Kalyan Samity attributed the primary causes of road accidents to lack of traffic police presence, absence of road signs and street lighting, insufficient training signs for new drivers, vehicle defects and violations of traffic laws and driving against traffic flow, inexperienced drivers and unfit vehicles.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PREVENTION

To reduce the number of accidents, the association made a number of recommendations, including halting the import and registration of smaller vehicles, installing proper lighting on highways, initiating training programmes for drivers and curbing extortion on the roads.