438 killed in 472 road crashes in June

A total of 438 people were in 472 road accidents in June across the country. The figures were confirmed by RSF Executive Director Saidur Rahman in a press release issued today. Among the victims were 44 women and 56 children.

Motorcycle crashes remained a major concern, causing 134 deaths in 145 accidents.

These accounted for 30.59 percent of the total deaths and 30.72 percent of all road crashes recorded during the month. The report also said 91 pedestrians were killed, representing 20.77 percent of total deaths. In addition, 57 drivers and transport workers lost their lives.

Outside road crashes, nine waterway accidents killed seven people and injured four others. Meanwhile, 21 railway accidents left 18 people dead and seven injured.

According to RSF, the report was prepared using information from nine national daily newspapers, ]17 national and regional online news portals, electronic media reports, and the foundation’s own sources.

Among the road crash victims, 134 were motorcycle riders and pillion passengers, 112 were three-wheeler passengers, 37 were passengers of trucks, covered vans, pickups and trolleys, 27 were bus passengers, 14 were passengers of private cars, microbuses and ambulances, 15 were passengers of locally made vehicles, and eight were rickshaw and bicycle riders.

Regional roads saw the highest number of crashes, with 194 incidents. National highways recorded 151 crashes, followed by rural roads with 64 and city roads with 57. Six crashes occurred in other locations.

A total of 713 vehicles were involved in the crashes. Dhaka division recorded the highest number of deaths, with 118 people killed in 116 crashes. Mymensingh division recorded the lowest number, with 16 deaths in 19 crashes.

In Dhaka city alone, 24 people were killed and 49 injured in 32 road crashes.
Among those killed were 58 students, 21 political activists, 17 NGO workers, 13 bank and insurance officials and employees, four teachers, two journalists, one doctor, three engineers, four lawyers, and one Chinese national.

RSF blamed unfit vehicles, faulty roads, reckless driving, unskilled and physically or mentally unfit drivers, lack of fixed working hours, slow-moving vehicles on highways, reckless motorcycle riding, weak traffic management, limited capacity of BRTA, poor public awareness of traffic rules, and extortion in the public transport sector for the high number of crashes.

The foundation said timely policies, better technology, improved infrastructure, and road safety education could help create a safer transport system. However, it stressed that strong political commitment is essential to bring meaningful change