C T Online Desk: At least 262 people were killed and 543 injured in 251 road accidents in just 13 days before and after Eid-ul-Azha across Bangladesh, according to a Road Safety Foundation report.
Among the deceased, 104 were killed in motorcycle accidents, 39.69% of the total fatalities, said a media statement on Monday.
The number of deaths in motorcycle accidents was 13.31% up in comparison with the fatalities caused by bike crashes during the Eid-ul-Azha last year, the Road Safety Foundation report claimed.
Thirty two women and 44 children were also among the lives that lost on roads during the Eid holidays this year, the report stated.
Among those killed in road crashes in 13 days, 49 were pedestrians which was 18.70% of the total deaths, and 28 were drivers and assistants of the drivers of different vehicles which was 10.68% of the total fatalities.
During this period, 12 people were killed and three others injured in seven waterway accidents, while 14 were killed and eight injured in 16 railway accidents, the Road Safety Foundation report said.
Vehicles involved in the accidents include 13.32% buses, 18.57% pick-up vans, covered vans and lorries, 7.31% private cars, jeeps and microbuses, 25.89% motorbikes, 14.58% battery-run human haulers and 19.88% three-wheeler vehicles.
Of the accidents, 38.64% occurred on national highways, while 36.25% on regional roads and 11.15% on other roads.
The report reveals that Dhaka division saw the highest number of deaths with 28.68% fatalities, while Sylhet division recorded the lowest number of accidents with just 3.18% casualties.
At least 14 people died and 11 were injured in 18 accidents in the capital city Dhaka, Road Safety Foundation data shows.
The pro-commuter platform identified several reasons contributing to the high number of casualties on the country’s roads, including, unfit vehicles, reckless driving, unskilled drivers and physical mental sickness of them, absence of fixed driving hours, slow-moving vehicles on highways, reckless driving of motorbikes by young people, lack of traffic rules knowledge, inadequate traffic management, and others.
