644 killed in 568 traffic accidents in July: Jatri Kalyan Samiti

Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samiti has claimed that a total of 644 people were killed and 1,075 injured in 568 accidents that occurred on road, rail, and waterways in July.

The association's data revealed that the highest number of casualties occurred on the road, with 576 people killed and 1,055 injured in 505 road accidents last month. 

Additionally, there were 48 fatalities in 47 railway accidents, and 21 deaths and 38 missing cases in 16 waterway accidents, read a press release. 

Compiled by the accident monitoring cell of Jatri Kalyan Samiti, the information was reportedly based on the analysis of news reports about road, rail, and waterway accidents published in national, regional, and online newspapers of the country.

According to the report, the increasing number of accidents is attributed to various factors, including the unrestricted movement of motorcycles and easy bikes, a significant rise in their numbers, the absence of road signs or markings, insufficient lighting, road construction defects, vehicle defects, driving on the wrong side of the road, non-compliance with traffic laws, inexperienced drivers, and negligence of railway crossing officials.

Last month, 195 people were killed and 122 injured in 180 motorcycle accidents. 

Motorcycles accounted for 35.64% of all accidents and 38.61% of the total fatalities.

The report revealed that various groups were affected by road accidents, including 10 law enforcement personnel, 154 drivers, 89 pedestrians, 42 transport workers, 36 students, eight teachers, 117 women, 64 children, one journalist, and 10 public political party leaders or workers.

Furthermore, the report disclosed that 38.61% of last month's total accidents occurred on national highways, 30.69% on regional highways, and 24.15% on feeder roads.

Also, 5.34% of total accidents took place in Dhaka city, 0.39% in Chittagong city, and 0.79% at railway crossings. 

To enhance safety and prevent accidents, the association proposed several measures. They suggested halting the import and registration of small vehicles such as motorcycles and easy bikes. 

They also advocated for initiatives like developing skilled drivers, digitising fitness license procedures for vehicles, and designating separate lanes for slow and fast vehicles.

Furthermore, the organisation urged authorities to put an end to roadside extortion. They also called for fair compensation and regulated working hours for drivers. 

Additionally, they emphasised the importance of installing road signs and markings while ensuring strict adherence to traffic laws through digital implementation.