642 killed in road accidents in January: JKS

Staff Reporter :
A total of 642 people were killed and 978 others injured in 650 accidents on roads, waterways and railways across the country this year’s January. Of them, only road accidents claimed 585 lives across the Bangladesh, Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity (JKS) disclosed its report on Saturday.
According to a statement issued by the JKS, 46 people were killed in 44 railway accidents while 11 were killed and one was injured in 13 waterway accidents.
However, the JKS report, signed by its Secretary General Md Mozammel Haque Chowdhury, was published on Saturday after analysing accident reports published in the country’s national and regional dailies and online media during the period.
Reckless driving, dangerous overtaking and movement of unfit vehicles, unskilled drivers and helpers were responsible for the fatal accidents, the report observed. Among the total number of accidents, pedestrians were hit by cars in many incidents, which was about 52 per cent.
According to the report, the road accidents have increased by 5.3 percent compared to last year’s January and the number of injured was also increased by 10.04 per cent.
 However, the numbers of fatalities dropped by 4.6 per cent, the report said.
Some 205 people died and 114 others were injured in 214 motorbike accidents across the country last month.
Among those killed in road accident in January, 206 people were drivers, 109 pedestrians, 35 transport workers, 53 students, 10 teachers, 13 members of law enforcement agencies, 115 women, 62 children, five journalists, one freedom fighter, two lawyers, three engineers and 14 activists of different political parties.
Among those vehicles involved in the accidents were 12.5 per cent buses, 24.75 per cent pick-up vans,, covered vans and lorries, 5.2 per cent private cars, jeeps and microbuses, 5.88 per cent CNG-run auto-rickshaws, 27.32 per cent motorbikes, 14.58 per cent battery-run human haulers and 9.92 per cent three-wheeler vehicles.
Of the accidents, 29.51 per cent occurred on national highways, 38.61 on regional roads and 24.45 per cent on roads. Besides, 5.22 per cent accidents occurred in Dhaka city, 1.18 in Chattogram city and 1.01 per cent on rail tracks.
According to the statement, the association blamed reckless driving, dangerous overtaking and movement of unfit vehicles, unskilled drivers and helpers, plying of slow-moving three-wheelers and human-haulers on highways, using headphones or mobile phones, using drugs, illegal occupation of footpaths, poor traffic management, and violation of traffic rules for the accidents and deaths.