585 killed in 593 road crashes in January

At least 585 people were killed and 899 injured in 593 road accidents across the country last month, according to Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity.

During this time, 214 road crashes involving motorcycles (36.09 percent of total crashes) claimed 205 lives (35.04 percent of the total death toll) last month.

The Samity, which compiled the data following media reports, revealed it through a press release yesterday.

The development came within a month after the transport authorities and leaders came down heavily on relevant organisations, including the Samity, for publishing "fabricated" reports on road crashes.

Speaking at a workshop on January 15, the transport authorities and leaders claimed both the numbers of road accidents and deaths have come down significantly last year, compared to previous years, taking the number of vehicles into account.

They also said organisations are publishing "fabricated" reports on road crashes, creating confusion among the people and tarnishing the country's image abroad.

The road crashes and injuries have increased in January this year by 5.3 percent and 10.04 percent respectively, compared to January last year.

However, representatives of two road safety organisations, who were present at the workshop, said the numbers were based on media reports and prepared with due diligence.

The Samity said the road crashes and injuries have increased in January this year by 5.3 percent and 10.04 percent respectively, compared to January last year.

However, the number of deaths came down by 4.6 percent in January this year, compared to the same period last year, it claimed.

Among the victims, 206 were drivers, 109 were pedestrians, 35 were transport workers, 53 were students, 10 were teachers, 13 were law enforcers and 14 were politicians. Besides, among the victims, 115 were women and 62 were children, it said.

The organisation also said 51.60 percent of road accidents took place when vehicles ran over pedestrians, while 22.25 crashes were head-on collisions and 12.47 percent occurred after vehicles fell into ditches after the drivers lost control over the wheels.

At least 46 people were killed and 78 were injured in 44 rail-related accidents and 11 killed and one injured and six went missing in 13 riverine accidents, it said.

The Samity usually publishes reports on road crashes after two Eids and an annual report in January.

However, for the first time, they have decided to publish monthly reports, Samity's Secretary General Mozammel Hoque Khan told The Daily Star yesterday.

Asked about the reason, he said the severity of road crashes is intensifying with the sharp rise of vehicles in the country.

"We want the government's involvement in reducing road crashes significantly. That's why we decided to publish monthly reports on the issue, to reveal the real picture of road safety in the country," he said.

When asked, he said they publish the reports maintaining due diligence. "We also provided the proof backing our data to the authorities as per their demand."

Mozammel said the government has also decided to publish monthly reports on road accidents. "They can verify our report and we are ready to clarify any misunderstanding and assist the authorities to solve the crisis," he added.