The number of road accidents and casualties was higher in 2021 than in 2020.
Between January and December 2021, at least 6,284 people were killed and 7,468 others were injured in road accidents across the country, whereas in 2020, 5,431 people were killed and 7,379 others were injured in road crashes, according to an annual report of the Bangladesh Road Safety Foundation (RSF).
The deaths and injuries resulted in a human resource loss to the tune of Tk9,631 crore, according to the report.
The RSF report, 'Publication and Review of Annual Report on Road Accidents 2021', was released at a press conference in the capital on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Nirapad Sarak Chai (NSC-we demand safe roads) has claimed that a total of 4,289 people were killed in 3,793 road accidents in the country in 2021.
The numbers provided by the two bodies differ greatly and this is because there is no legal entity that logs deaths and casualties in the country, say experts. Newspapers, television and online portals are the primary sources of information in this regard.
The director of the Accident Research Institute, BUET professor Dr Hadiuzzaman said: "Some organizations take data from five daily newspapers; other organizations may collect information from 10 dailies. This leads to a gap in information,” he said.
“We should conduct research by maintaining a specific model as well as a specific plan,” he added.
If conducted properly, the real figure of road accidents would be much higher, he added.
AI Mahbub Uddin Ahmed, chairman of RSF and professor at the Department of Sociology at Dhaka University, presented the report, which had been prepared on the basis of news reports published in seven national dailies, five online news portals and television channels.
According to the RSF report, 38.68% of all accidents occurring in 2021 involved motorcycles. At least 2,214 people were killed and 1,309 were injured in these crashes. A total of 2,078 motorcycles were involved in these accidents.
On the other hand, 1,381 people were killed and 1,463 were injured in motorcycle accidents in 2020, the report added.
Furthermore, 927 women and 734 children died in 2021, whereas 871 women and 649 children died in 2020 in road mishaps. A total of 5,371 road accidents took place in 2021; the figure was 4,735 in 2020, according to the report.
NSC organized another program, titled 'Presentation of Road Accident Statistics for 2021', at the National Press Club on Saturday.
Ilias Kanchan, chairman of the organization, presented the report which showed that the number of road accidents, deaths and injuries had increased in 2021 in comparison with the previous two years.
NSC collected data from news published in 11 national dailies, online portals and television.
According to the report, a total of 4,289 people were killed in 3,793 road accidents, 254 were killed in 270 rail accidents and 90 others were killed in waterway accidents in 2021.
The report noted that road accidents increased by 21% in 2021 over 2020.
"Due to Covid-19, offices, shopping malls, markets and public transport were not open as in previous years. But road accidents increased across the country, nevertheless, which is very alarming," said Ilias Kanchan.
According to both the organizations, road accidents are continuing to rise in the country due to a number of factors, which include plying of unfit vehicles on the road, reckless driving, lack of skilled drivers, mental and physical illness of drivers, insufficient benefits for drivers, slow vehicular movement on highways, careless bike riding by youths, ineffective traffic management system, and a lack of awareness among people.
The organisations have suggested employing only experienced drivers, strengthening the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), and implementing existing laws for bringing down the number of accidents in the country.