739 lives lost on roads in July

Industry Desk: As many as 739 people including 109 children were killed and 2042 others injured in 632 road accidents across the country in July.
Of these, 251 people died in motorbike accidents alone, which is 33.96% of the total fatalities, Road Safety Foundation said in its latest report released yesterday.
These road crashes left 118 pedestrians, 137 drivers and their assistants dead during the period.
On the other hand, 14 waterways accidents claimed at least 18 lives with seven injuries. Besides, 41 were killed and 33 others injured in 26 train accidents across Bangladesh last month.
Road Safety Foundation prepared the report based on the reports of nine national dailies, seven online news portals and electronic media.
Of the total accidents, 252 accidents occurred on the national highways, 199 on regional roads, 109 on rural roads, 64 on city roads and eight in other places, said the report.
According to the report, 31.48% accidents occurred in Dhaka division, 15.18 % in Rajshahi, 16.61% in Chattogram, 13.13% in Khulna, 5.69% in Barishal, 4.90 % in Sylhet, 6%in Rangpur and 6.69% in Mymensingh divisions.
The highest number of accidents was recorded in Dhaka division where 228 people were killed in 199 accidents. Forty-six people were killed in Barishal division, the lowest compared to other divisions, said the report. The RSF pointed out several major reasons behind the rise in the number of road accidents.
The reasons include – faulty vehicles; reckless driving; desperate mentality, incompetence and illness of drivers; unsettled wages and working hours; prevalence of low-speed traffic on highways; reckless motorcycling by the youth; the tendency of flouting traffic rules, poor management of traffic; lack of efficiency of the BRTA; and extortion in the sector.
The RSF urged the authorities concerned to take necessary initiative to address the issues.