532 killed, 2,221 injured in 576 road crashes in March

A total of 532 people -- including 66 women and 98 children -- were killed, and 2,221 were injured in 576 road accidents across the country in March, said the monthly report of Road Safety Foundation (RSF) released yesterday.

Meanwhile,14 waterway accidents left 12 people dead, 27 injured, and three missing. Besides, 48 railway accidents killed 67 people and injured 224.

The RSF prepared the report based on information published in nine national dailies, 17 national and regional online news portals, various electronic media outlets, and the RSF’s own sources.

Most accidents occurred due to vehicles losing control at high speed, underscoring the need for technology-based monitoring to curb speeding, as well as motivational training for drivers, RSF officials say.

RSF analysis shows that most of the accidents occurred on motorcycles. A total of 204 motorcycle drivers or riders were killed in 219 accidents. Besides, 79 pedestrians were killed, while 66 drivers and assistants died in accidents.

Then 45 bus passengers, 28 riders of trucks, pickups, and tractors, and 46 passengers of private cars and microbuses were dead. At least 94 passengers were killed in three-wheelers, including easy bikes, and CNG-run auto-rickshaws. Another 23 passengers were killed in locally made vehicles such as nosimons, and bhatbhatis. In addition, 13 bicycle riders were killed.

RSF shows that 264 accidents occurred on regional roads, 171 on national highways, 70 on rural roads, and 62 on city roads. The remaining nine took place elsewhere.

In terms of the accidents, 166 were head-on collisions, while 231 occurred after drivers lost control.

A total of 1,008 vehicles were involved in the accidents, Among these included 133 buses, 120 trucks, 37 covered vans, 41 pickups, 16 tractors, seven lorries, 16 drum trucks, two tourist cars, 19 microbuses, 42 private cars, two ambulances, eight SUVs, 244 motorcycles, 200 three-wheelers, 65 locally made vehicles, 15 bicycles, and 32 unidentified vehicles.

Dhaka division recorded the highest number of fatalities, with 137 deaths in 126 accidents, while Sylhet division saw the lowest, with 26 deaths in 27 accidents.

In the capital, 28 people were killed, and 69 were injured in 46 accidents.

According to the report, the daily average of road accident deaths increased by 11.28 percent in March compared to February.