FE REPORT
About 519 people were killed and 961 others injured in separate road accidents across the country in August last.
It means, on average, roughly 17 people died and 31 others were injured in road mishaps every day in the last month.
During the period, a total of 458 road crashes took place while the number of accidents involving motorcycles was the highest, according to a report published by the Road Safety Foundation (RSF).
Among the dead, 64 were women and 69 children.
Of the dead, 172 were killed in 183 motorcycle accidents in the last month, it also reveals.
Like the previous trend, the highest number of accidents occurred in Dhaka division with the number of deaths also being the highest last month.
Of the total deaths, 142 people were killed in Dhaka division alone in 127 mishaps, the report shows.
Twenty-one people were killed in Sylhet division in 19 accidents, the lowest compared to other divisions, said the report.
Of the total, 187 accidents occurred on highways, 152 on regional roads, 79 on rural roads, 31 on urban roads and nine on others.
Besides, eight were killed and six others injured in 11 incidents on railway tracks while 24 others died and nine others injured in 23 incidents on waterways during the period.
The RSF prepared the report based on news contents of nine national dailies, seven online news portals, and electronic media.
About 733 vehicles were responsible for the road accidents that took place during the period.
It attributed the road crashes to unfit vehicles, rash driving, lack of skill, mental and physical sickness, inadequate benefits for drivers, slow movement of vehicles on the highways, reckless bike ride by youths, improper traffic management system, and lack of awareness about traffic laws.
The RSF has also recommended increasing skilled drivers, strengthening the capability of the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) and enforcement of the existing laws to check road accidents in the country.
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