Death March on National Highways: 546 Lives Lost on Roads in January
In January of this year, a total of 597 accidents occurred across the country on roads, railways, and waterways, resulting in 586 deaths and 1,238 injuries. Of these, 546 people died and 1,204 were injured in road accidents alone. The information was provided by the Bangladesh Passenger Welfare Association.
On Sunday, the organization’s secretary-general, Md. Mozammel Haque Chowdhury, issued a press release stating that the report was prepared after analyzing news published in national and regional media. In January, there were 552 road accidents nationwide. During the same period, 37 rail accidents resulted in 33 deaths and 28 injuries, while 8 waterway accidents caused 7 deaths, 6 injuries, and 3 people went missing.
According to the report, 37.86 percent of total accidents involved motorcycles. In 209 motorcycle accidents, 223 people were killed and 132 injured, accounting for more than 40 percent of total fatalities. By division, Dhaka recorded the highest number of accidents with 132 incidents and 133 deaths, while Sylhet had the lowest with 29 accidents and 28 deaths.
Among the deceased, 127 were drivers, 89 pedestrians, 57 students, 54 women, 48 children, and 21 transport workers. Regarding vehicles involved in accidents, motorcycles accounted for 28.46 percent, trucks, pickups, and lorries 23.64 percent, and buses 14.35 percent.
In terms of accident type, 48.36 percent were due to being run over, 28.62 percent were head-on collisions, and 16.84 percent occurred due to losing control and falling into ditches. The highest number of accidents—42.57 percent—occurred on national highways.
The organization stated that the main causes of accidents are unskilled drivers, unfit vehicles, reckless speed, and violation of traffic laws. They have called for strict law enforcement, a digital fitness system, CCTV monitoring, and regular road safety audits to ensure road safety.
