Last May, 550 people lost their lives in 550 accidents on roads, railways and waterways across the country, show data compiled by the Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity (BJKS).
A press release, signed by BJKS Secretary General Mozammel Haque Chowdhury and issued on Wednesday, mentions that in the 550 accidents, 510 people were killed and 921 were injured in 508 road accidents. 32 people were killed and 11 injured in 37 railway accidents.
Besides, three people were killed and 52 went missing in five accidents on the waterways.
BJKS data further show that 175 people were killed and 190 got injured in 176 motorcycle accidents in May. Most road accidents took place in Dhaka division that month, with 121 people dead and 210 injured in 115 road accidents in the region.
The least number of road accidents took place in the Barisal division, where 22 people were killed and 33 injured in 26 road accidents during the month of May.
Among the road crash victims, there are 15 law enforcement personnel, 131 drivers, 76 pedestrians, 121 transport workers, 54 students, 19 teachers, 81 women, 58 children, 2 journalists, 3 engineers, 1 freedom fighter and 5 members of different political parties.
Of the total accidents, 50.78 per cent were vehicle run-overs, 22.04 per cent head-on collisions, 22.24 per cent due to loss of control, 3.93 per cent due to miscellaneous causes, 0.39 per cent due to veils getting on wheels, and 0.59 were train-vehicle collisions.
An analysis of accident types show that 30.70 per cent of the total accidents in May occurred on national highways, 20.86 per cent on regional highways, and 42.12 per cent on feeder roads.
Meanwhile, 3.74 per cent of the total accidents occurred in Dhaka city, 1.96 per cent in Chattogram city and 0.59 per cent in railway crossings.
Commenting on the issue, BJKS Secretary General Mozammel Haque Chowdhury said, “Discipline will return to the public transportation sector only if rampant bribery can be curbed.
“Moreover, if the traffic law is implemented through CCTV systems as a part of a smart traffic system to build a smart Bangladesh, discipline will be reestablished in the sector, and the number of accidents will go down.”
