10,858 people killed in road, railway, waterway accidents in 2022

Staff Reporter :
At least 10,858 people were killed and 12,875 others injured in 7,617 road, railway and waterway accidents across the country in 2022.
Of them, a total of 9,951 people were killed and 12,356 others injured in 6,749 road accidents which are the highest figures in the last eight years. Deaths in road crashes saw a rise by 27.43 percent in 2022 than 2021, the report said.
In the year, about 550 people were killed and 201 others injured in 606 railway accidents while 262 accidents on waterways claimed lives of 357 people, and left 318 others injured and 743 more missing.
Md Mozammel Haque Chowdhury, General Secretary of Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity, a passengers’ welfare platform, presented the new report at a press conference in the capital on Monday morning.
According to the report, among the dead are 114 members of the law and order agencies, 16 brave freedom fighters, 24 journalists, 703 women, 588 children, 666 students, 117 teachers, 2,383 drivers, 421 transport workers, 27 engineers, 133 activists of various political parties and 31 doctors.
This report has been prepared by Jatri Kalyan Samiti by monitoring the accident news published in the national, regional and online newspapers of the country.
The report shows that 52.02 percent of the total accidents last year were on regional highways, 27.70 percent on national highways and 11.88 percent on feeder roads.
Besides, 5.67 percent of the total accidents in the country occurred in the capital, 1.71 percent in Chattogram city and 0.99 percent in  
rail crossings. Reckless driving, risky overtaking, dilapidated roads, unfit vehicles, unskilled drivers, using mobile phones or headphones while driving and lack of awareness among road users were the main reasons behind road accidents.