Accidents on roads, rail, waterways claim 575 lives in October

Over 38 percent of accidents occurred on national highways, with motorcycles involved in a quarter of the incidents

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A total of 575 people have lost their lives in transport accidents across Bangladesh during October, according to a report by the Bangladesh Passenger Welfare Association.

The month saw a total of 534 accidents, which also left 875 others injured.

Half of these accidents involved vehicles ramming pedestrians, while one-fourth were due to collisions, and 15 percent resulted from vehicles veering out of control.

The association’s statement on Saturday highlighted that more than 38 percent of these incidents occurred on national highways.

The data also revealed an increase in fatalities compared to September, when 547 accidents left 554 dead and 1,038 injured.

Although the number of accidents and injuries declined, fatalities increased, according to Mozammel Haque Chowdhury, the association’s secretary general.

He told bdnews24.com, “The reduced presence of traffic police on roads after the government transition created an opportunity for more violations. Illegal vehicles on major roads have also contributed to the rising death toll. Even though these vehicles are small, they carry seven to nine passengers at a time.”

He suggested reducing the number of motorcycles to bring down fatalities, adding: “There are more than five million motorcycles in Bangladesh, which far exceeds the capacity of our roads.

“Compared to other countries, the number is disproportionately high. Battery-powered rickshaws should be allowed only in rural areas,” he said.

Motorcycles accounted for 34 percent of all fatalities, with 163 deaths recorded.

In rail accidents, 63 incidents led to 76 deaths and left 24 people injured.

On waterways, 19 accidents resulted in 24 deaths, 36 injuries, and nine missing persons.

Of the 631 vehicles involved in the total number of accidents, 24.41 percent were motorcycles, 22.50 percent were trucks, pickups, or covered vans, 18.54 percent were buses, 17.91 percent were battery-powered rickshaws or easy bikes, 3.96 percent were CNG-powered autorickshaws, 6.65 percent were three-wheelers and four-wheelers such as Nasimons, Korimons, Mahindras, tractors, or legunas, and 6 percent were cars, jeeps, or microbuses.

Analysing the data, the association found that 49.48 percent of the accidents were incidents where pedestrians were rammed by vehicles, 25.25 percent were head-on collisions, 14.77 percent occurred as vehicles veered out of control and fell into ditches, 9.51 percent stemmed from other causes, and 0.25 percent involved train collisions.

Moreover, 0.75 percent of fatalities occurred when scarves became entangled in vehicle wheels.

The analysis of accident locations showed that 38.29 percent occurred on national highways, 30.39 percent on regional highways, and 24.62 percent on feeder roads.

The association pointed to various reasons for road accidents, including the absence of road signs or markings and streetlights on national highways.

Prolonged rainfall created large potholes, also causing road safety issues.

Turn signs were missing on national, regional, and feeder roads, leading inexperienced drivers to crash.

Other contributing factors included driving on the wrong side of the road, unskilled drivers, unfit vehicles, overloading, reckless driving, and prolonged driving hours.

The association has recommended creating separate lanes for slow-moving and fast-moving vehicles to reduce accidents.