61 members of police and other forces killed in road accidents in 9 months
At least 61 members of different forces, including 46 policemen, were killed in road accidents in the first nine months of this year.
Till September, the number of deaths of police personnel in road accidents so far saw a 52.17 percent rise. In 2020, twenty-two police personnel were killed in the same period (January to September), according to a statement issued by Road Safety Foundation today.
The foundation, in the statement undersigned by its Executive Director Saidur Rahman, came up with the statistics based on reports published in seven national newspapers, five online portals and other electronic media.
Among the deceased, 46 were policemen, four were Bangladesh Army personnel, three Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) members, two Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel, four Ansar members, and one each of Bangladesh Navy, National Security Intelligence (NSI), and Armed Police Battalion (APBn), the statement read.
Most of the deaths -- about 60.86 percent -- happened when the law enforcers' motorcycles were ran over by trucks, followed by 17.39 percent killed after their motorbikes ran over by bus, while about 13.04 percent included those who were either on duty or were pedestrians, and the rest 8.69 percent deaths happened when they lost control over their motorcycles, the statement also read.
About 63.04 percent of the deaths took place at night, and 54.34 percent happened on major roads and highways, according to the statement.
The organisation observed the following as causes of the deaths: Road Transport Act not being implemented; law enforcers including policemen not abiding by traffic rules and not wearing helmet while riding motorcycles; drivers of trucks/covered vans suffering from fatigue and mental ailments due to long hours of driving without breaks, and also often driving recklessly and carelessly; drivers being annoyed at policemen for checking papers, imposing fines and lodging cases; drivers being irritated by traffic congestions on roads and feeling annoyed and reckless if approached by police in that state.
It came up with some recommendations to remedy the situation, which include encouraging law enforcement agency personnel to uphold traffic rules, fully implementing Road Transport Act for all citizens equally and formulating and implementing a sustainable road transport strategy.
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