439 killed in accidents last month: report

At least 439 people were killed and 682 people were injured in 417 road accidents across the country in November alone, Road Safety Foundation said yesterday.

Of the deceased, 64 were women and 53 were children, said a press release of the non-government organisation.

A total of 141 people died in 128 motorcycle accidents, which accounted for 32.11 percent of the total deaths, the press release said.

Some 116 pedestrians were killed while 49 drivers and their assistants were killed during this period.

Meanwhile, at least three people were killed and eight were injured in four waterways accidents, while 32 were killed and seven injured in train accidents.

Road Safety Foundation collected the data based on reports in seven national dailies, five online news portals and electronic media.

As per a division-wise breakdown, Dhaka saw maximum road crashes while Sylhet witnessed the minimum accidents. A total of 128 people were killed in 111 accidents in Dhaka and 14 were killed in 22 accidents in Sylhet.

The foundation identified 10 main reasons behind the accidents, that include unfit vehicles, speeding, unskilled drivers, slow-moving transport on highways, reckless motorcycle driving and weak traffic management.

The organisation also placed 10 recommendations to reduce accidents across the country.