Road safety problem in Bangladesh: 469 deaths and 837 injuries in road accidents in October

In October this year, 443 road accidents occurred in Bangladesh, killing 469 people and injuring 837 others.

The dead included 74 women and 66 children.

A total of 208 motorcycle accidents resulted in 196 deaths, representing 41.79% of the total fatalities, with a motorcycle accident rate of 46.95%.

In addition, 102 pedestrians (21.74%) and 67 vehicle drivers or their assistants (14.28%) were killed.

In the same period, four maritime accidents caused seven deaths and three injuries, while 21 rail incidents resulted in 18 deaths and six injuries.

The Road Safety Foundation has compiled this report based on data from nine national newspapers, seven online news portals, various electronic media and its internal administration.

Fatalities by vehicle type

The breakdown of fatalities by vehicle shows that motorcyclists or passengers were responsible for 196 deaths (41.79%), bus passengers for 31 (6.60%), and occupants of trucks, covered vans, pick-ups, trolleys or trucks for 20 (4.26%).

The number of passengers by car, microbus and ambulance was 12 (2.55%), while passengers on three-wheelers (e.g. auto-rickshaws, CNGs, Tom-Toms) accounted for 94 deaths (20.04%).

Locally manufactured vehicles (such as Nosimon and Korimon) were involved in 10 deaths (2.13%), with cyclists and rickshaw passengers accounting for 4 deaths (0.85%).

Accident location per road type

The analysis by the Road Safety Foundation shows that 173 (39.05%) of the incidents took place on national roads, 162 (36.56%) on regional roads, 64 (14.44%) on rural roads and 38 (8.57%) %) in urban areas, of which six accidents (1.35%) occurred in other unspecified locations.

Types of accidents

The incidents included 112 (25.28%) head-on collisions, 171 (38.60%) incidents caused by loss of control, 104 (23.47%) incidents involving pedestrians, 42 (9.48%) rear-end collisions and 14 (3.16%) %) caused by other factors.

Vehicles involved in accidents

Of the vehicles involved, trucks, covered vans, pickups, tractors, trolleys, trucks and drum carts were involved in 25.48% of the accidents.

Microbuses, passenger cars, ambulances and jeeps accounted for 4.39%, passenger buses for 14.48%, motorcycles for 28.07% and three-wheelers (such as auto-rickshaws) for 17.59%. Locally manufactured vehicles accounted for 5.43%, bicycles and rickshaws accounted for 1.81% and unidentified vehicles were involved in 2.71%.

Number of vehicles involved

A total of 773 vehicles were involved, including 112 buses, 119 trucks, 22 covered vans, 25 pickups, seven tractors, six trolleys, nine trucks, eight drum trucks, an 18-wheeler truck, 12 microbuses, 14 passenger cars, five ambulances, three jeeps, 217 motorcycles, 136 tricycles, 42 local manufactured vehicles, 14 bicycles or rickshaws and 21 unidentified vehicles.

Time of day analysis

A time distribution analysis indicates that 5.41% of accidents occurred at dawn, 26.63% in the morning, 16.93% in the afternoon, 15.57% in the evening, 9.25% around sunset and 26.18% at night.

Accident statistics by division

The divisional statistics show that Dhaka division recorded 29.57% of accidents and 30.70% of fatalities. The Rajshahi division accounted for 15.34% of accidents and 13.85% of fatalities, while Chattogram division saw 17.83% of accidents and 17.27% of deaths. Khulna division had 9% of accidents and 8.10% of deaths, while Barishal, Sylhet, Rangpur and Mymensingh divisions had lower figures ranging from 4.06% to 10.83% for accidents and 5.33 % to 11.08% for fatalities.

The highest number of accidents occurred in Dhaka division, with 131 incidents resulting in 144 fatalities. The fewest accidents occurred in Sylhet division, with 22 incidents and 24 deaths.

Within individual districts, Chattogram had the highest figures, with 34 accidents and 39 fatalities, while Magura, Jhalokathi, Barguna and Panchagarh reported accidents without fatalities.

In the capital Dhaka, 29 road accidents resulted in 21 deaths and 34 injuries.

Occupational analysis of the deceased

Fatalities included three police officers, two Ansar members, nine teachers from various educational institutions and four journalists, according to published media data.

The Road Safety Foundation calls on all stakeholders to consider these statistics and take immediate steps to improve road safety.