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2 years ago

Road accidents killed 17 people every day in Jan-Feb: Report

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Some 1,012 people were killed and 1,146 others injured in road accidents across the country in January- February this year.

It means, on average, roughly 17 people died in road mishaps every day in the last two months.

During the period, a total of 848 road crashes took place while the number of accidents involving motorcycles was the highest, according to a report published by the Road Safety Foundation (RSF).

Among the dead, 143 were women and 130 children.

In January, 543 people were killed in 431 road accidents while 469 people were killed in 417 accidents in February.

Compared to January, the death toll from road accidents decreased by 4.34 per cent in February.

Some 403 people died in as many as 358 motorcycle crashes in the last two months, which is 42.21 per cent of the total deaths, said the report, released on Saturday.

The highest number of accidents occurred in Dhaka division with the number of deaths also being the highest.

Of the total, the highest 22.72 per cent of people were killed in Dhaka division alone, the report showed.

The lowest number of fatalities was reported in Sylhet division. A total of 24 people were killed in the division.

Of the total, 353 accidents occurred on highways, 295 on regional roads, 143 on rural roads, 46 on urban roads and 11 in others.

Besides, 35 were killed and six others injured in 26 incidents on railway tracks while 37 others died from 12 incidents of waterways in the period.

The RSF prepared the report based on news content of seven national dailies, five online news portals, and electronic media. Some 1,437 vehicles were responsible for the road accidents that took place during the period.

It attributed the road crashes to unfit vehicles, rash driving, lack of skill, mental and physical sickness, inadequate benefits for drivers, slow movement of vehicles on the highways, reckless bike ride by youths, improper traffic management system, and lack of awareness about traffic laws.

The RSF has also recommended increasing skilled drivers, strengthening the capability of the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) and enforcement of the existing laws to check road accidents in the country.

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