Dhaka, Nov 16 (V7N) – October saw a devastating toll on Bangladesh's roads, with 452 accidents resulting in 475 deaths and 815 injuries, according to a report by Jatri Kalyan Samity, a road safety advocacy group.

At a press conference in Dhaka on Saturday, Samity General Secretary Mohammad Mozammel Haque Chowdhury revealed the findings, which also included data on railway and waterway accidents.

Accident Breakdown

  • Railways: 63 accidents led to 76 fatalities and 24 injuries.
  • Waterways: 19 incidents caused 24 deaths, 36 injuries, and left nine people missing.

Road Accidents by Category

  • Motorcycles were involved in 138 accidents, resulting in 163 deaths and 239 injuries. This accounted for 30.53% of total accidents, 34.31% of fatalities, and 29.32% of injuries.
  • Victims included 10 law enforcement members, 124 drivers, 117 pedestrians, 32 transport workers, 49 students, 15 teachers, 58 women, 51 children, 4 physicians, 6 journalists, and 16 political activists.

Vehicles Involved
Of the 631 vehicles implicated in the accidents:

  • Motorcycles constituted 24.41%.
  • Trucks, pickups, covered vans, and lorries made up 22.50%.
  • Buses accounted for 18.54%.
  • Battery-run rickshaws and easy bikes contributed 17.91%.
  • Other categories included CNG-run auto rickshaws (3.96%), Nosimon, Karimon, Mahindra tractors, and Laguna vehicles (6.65%), and cars, jeeps, and microbuses (6.02%).

Accident Locations

  • 38.29% of crashes occurred on national highways.
  • 30.39% took place on regional highways.
  • 24.62% happened on feeder roads.

Comparative Data
In September, Bangladesh recorded 493 road accidents, resulting in 498 deaths and 978 injuries, underscoring the ongoing challenge of road safety in the country.

END/MSS/AJ