Motorcycle accidents rise 2.5 times in four years: Study

Motorcycle accidents have increased 2.5 times over a four-year period, says the Road Safety Foundation, as the use of two-wheelers has gone up for a variety of reasons, including traffic congestion and chaos in transportation management.

In 2022, 3,091 people were killed in 2,973 motorcycle accidents, which is 40.07% of the total fatalities on roads, the foundation said in an annual report.

In 2022, there were 6,829 accidents on roads, compared to 4,693 four years ago when 1,189 were motorcycle accidents, said the report unveiled at a press conference at the Sagar-Runi Auditorium of the Dhaka Reporters Unity on Saturday.

According to the Road Safety Foundation, motorcycles are 30 times more dangerous than 4-wheelers. The patronage of corrupt politics and the chaos in transportation management in the country have massively given rise to the motorcycle culture.

These motorcyclists are driving recklessly on roads and highways. A large proportion of motorcyclists are teenagers and young adults. It also stated that there is a strong tendency among them to not know and obey traffic rules.

According to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), four years ago, motorcycles were sold annually at 5.28 lakh, which stood at 6 lakh in 2022.

Road Safety Foundation Chairman Professor Dr AI Mahbub Uddin Ahmed, who read out a written statement at a press conference in the capital, said as the number of motorcycles is increasing as a form of transportation, so are the accidents.

Analysing the total number of accidents, he said that compared to 2021, road accidents have increased by 27.14%, fatalities by 22.74%, and injuries by 68.92%.

He said due to prolonged traffic congestion and the behaviour of drivers becoming impatient are the main reasons for the increase in accidents.

Such accidents happen more during the rush for work in the morning. An analysis showed that 21.62% of the accidents occurred in the early hours, while 17.31% in the morning, he added.

According to the report, inadequate roads compared to the number of vehicles in the capital, the ply of mechanised and non-mechanised, slow and fast moving vehicles on the same roads, the occupation of footpaths by hawkers, the non-construction of footbridges in suitable locations, and a lack of awareness among road users are all contributing to accidents and fatalities.

The major causes of road accidents have been attributed to faulty vehicles, reckless speed, drivers' incompetence and physical and mental illness, a lack of having a fixed salary and working hours for drivers, the plying of low speed vehicles on highways, reckless motorbike driving, ignorance and disobedience of traffic laws, poor traffic management, and extortion in the public transport sector, added the report.

Professor Dr AI Mahbub Uddin Ahmed said that the metro rail and subways will not be able to reduce the traffic congestion in the capital to a large extent as the pressure of people is increasing fast. Surface route bus service will carry three times as many passengers as metro rail and subways.

Besides, Nagar Paribahan that has been introduced is not able to have much impact on passenger services due to unplanned and poor management, he added.