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At least 502 people were killed and 838 injured in a total of 464 road, rail and waterway accidents across the country in October this year, according to a report by the passenger welfare platform Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity.
The report said 437 people were killed and 681 injured in 429 road accidents last month. There were 131 motorcycle accidents in October, in which 144 people were killed and 76 were injured.
According to the Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity, motorbike accidents accounted for 30.53 per cent of the total accidents, 33.56 per cent of the deaths and 17.71 per cent of the injuries.
In October, 53 people were killed and 155 injured in 29 railway accidents and 12 people were killed, two were injured and two were missing in six waterway accidents, said Jatri Kalyan Samity.
The report was prepared by the association's accident monitoring cell, which monitored news of road, rail and waterway accidents published in national, regional and online newspapers.
The most road accidents were reported in Dhaka division, with 134 mishaps in which 141 people were killed and 132 were injured.
The least road accidents were recorded in Barisal division, with 24 accidents in which 21 people were killed and 84 were injured.
Of the total accidents, 50.81 per cent occurred when vehicles ran over pedestrians.
An analysis of the types of accidents showed that 36.13 per cent occurred on national highways, 22.14 per cent on regional highways and 30.76 per cent on feeder roads.
According to Jatri Kalyan Samity's observations, major causes of road accidents in October included misapplication of traffic laws and weak enforcement, irregularities and corruption in the traffic department, a massive increase in motorcycles, battery-run rickshaws and three-wheelers, and rampant movements of these vehicles on highways.