Staff Reporter :
A new study has revealed that 8,642 people were killed in road accidents across the country last year while 1,305 became physically impaired losing their hands, legs or some other vital organs.
It also revealed that 52 per cent of the victims were the only earning members of their families.
The above statistics was provided on Saturday by Jatri Kalyan Samity [Passengers Welfare Association], an organization which works on road accidents and protection of passenger rights. It compiled the figure round the year on the basis newspapers reports and other electronic media.
“Around 30,497 people, including passengers and transport workers, fall victim to 6,581 road accidents last year leaving 8,642 dead and another 21,855 injured,” Mozammel Haque Chowdhury, Secretary General of Jatri Kalyan Samity said in a press conference at the National Press Club.
He said, “About 1,185 buses, 1,656 trucks, 872 covered vans and human haulers, 552 cars, jeeps and microbuses, 1,678 auto rickshaws, 1, 771 motor cycles, 1,071 battery-run rickshaws and 1,033 karimans have fallen in accidents during the aforesaid period.”
Meanwhile, the Jatri Kalyan Samity has identified 12 reasons for the fatal road crashes. Of them, grabbing of footpaths, overtaking, over speed, overload, driving vehicles by helpers, fault in road construction, mechanical problem of vehicles, passengers’ unawareness, violation of traffic law, absence of zebra crossing and using of cell phones during driving were mentionable.
Besides, running of slow and fast moving vehicles simultaneously on highways, driving after taking drugs or alcohol and entrance of vehicle in highway through feeder road have also appeared as important reasons behind the fatal accidents.
Revealing the findings on road accidents, Mozammel Haque Chowdhury said, “Of the total accidents, 56 per cent occurred on national and regional highways, 23 per cent in city areas and 21 per cent in feeder roads or rural areas…The rate of death in road accidents had reached up to 60 per cent in city and rural areas for grabbing of footpaths and absence of bus-bays.”
The Jatri Kalyan Samity also put forward some recommendations for prevention of road accidents.
These are: Carrying out publicity through educational institutions, places of worship and media to make citizens aware of traffic and motor vehicle laws, removing markets from near national and regional highways and freeing footpaths of grabbers or unauthorised occupation, installing road signs and marking zebra crossings, imparting professional training to drivers and ensuring their leisure, updating existing traffic laws and digitalising issuance and renewal of vehicle fitness certificates, and dividing highways for slow-and fast-moving vehicles.
The Samity also suggested that the government take responsibility for the families of those killed in road accidents. Besides, the Samity demanded to conduct mass publicity about road accidents in the media and eviction of hat-bazzar from raods and footpaths.
Significantly, the Jatri Kalyan Samity death toll counts 3,639 more fatalities than the death statistics of road-crashes in 2015 compiled by another similar organisation, Nirapad Sarak Chai [NSC].
On Dec 31, the NSC at a press conference in Dhaka said that 5,003 people were killed and at least 6,197 others injured in 2,626 accidents around the country in 2015.
