Md Joynal Abedin Khan :
About 5,227 people were killed in 4,702 reported road accidents while 6,953 received injuries across the country.
In 2018, about 4,439 people were killed and 7,425 injured. It means that more people died in road accidents in 2019.
The number of road crashes and deaths saw an “alarming rise” last year compared with the previous year, te Nirapad Sarak Chai (Nischa) report said.
Nischa Chairman Ilias Kanchan revealed the information at a press conference in the Dhaka’s Jatiya Press Club on Saturday.
The report was prepared on the basis of news published in 22 national dailies, 10 regional newspapers and eight online news portals and agencies, said a press release.
People lost their lives after taking 111-point road safety measures amid the huge outcry for the new Road Transport Act.
Even the Roads Transport and Bridges Ministry, the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), Bangladesh Police and several public and non-government organizations have campaigned for public awareness for road safety that failed to check the increasing road accidents.
According to further statistics, at least 4,284 people, including 516 women and 539 children, were killed and 9,112 others injured in 3,472 road accidents across Bangladesh in 2017.
According to the report, the number of road accidents and casualties increased in 2017 compared with 2016.
A total of 3,412 people, including 470 women and 453 children, died and 8,572 others injured in 2,998 road accidents in 2016.
The report showed that the number of road accidents increased by 474 in 2017 compared to 2016 while the number of deaths rose by 872.
As a result, the number of accidents increased by 15.82% and death toll by 25.56% in 2017 compared to that of 2016.
In 2015, the number of road accidents was 2626with a death toll of 5003, a report said.
In 2014, the number of road accidents was 2,713, with a death toll of 6,582, according to the report.
Earlier April 2019, headed by former Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan, a road safety panel submitted a report with 111 recommendations, including the creation of a “road safety authority” under the supervision of the prime minister.
These recommendations are to be implemented in four phases.
The four phases are: Recommendations are to be immediately implemented within December of the current year, short-term, to be implemented from 2019-2021, long-term, to be implemented from 2019-2024, and currently on-going processes.
Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology’s (BUET) Accident Research Institute (ARI) Professor Hasif Mohammad Ahsan said, “Speed bumps work as a deterrent on roads and highways to rear-end collisions, as drivers often with fake licences drive recklessly and run into other vehicles.”
Illegal modification of buses and trucks is also to blame for frequent accidents., the professor said.
“The bodies of almost cent percent buses and trucks are modified through ignoring rules, which is one of the main reasons for road crashes,” he said.
“It’s very difficult for a truck driver to notice vehicles coming from behind due to the illegally modified body, which is larger than the driver’s cabin,” he observed.
