A total of 427 people, including 56 women and 58 children, died in 372 road accidents in February, according to data prepared by the National Committee to Protect Shipping, Roads and Railways.
The data also shows 1,094 people were injured, an average of 46 people a day, in these accidents.
The data, prepared on the basis of news reports published in 20 national daily newspapers, 10 regional newspapers and eight online news portals, was released on Wednesday.
In January, 416 people died and 1,012 people were injured in 350 road accidents, their data further shows.
The committee’s General Secretary Ashish Kumer Dey said the committee has identified a number of reasons behind the deaths and injuries, including competitive attitudes among bus drivers to reach destinations early, inefficiency and carelessness of drivers, lack of rest while driving for a long time, lack of training and awareness among drivers and assistants, and not following traffic rules while overtaking vehicles, among other reasons.
He said a lack of seriousness among regulatory and monitoring agencies of the road transport sector also plays a role.
The lack of strict punishment for drivers, assistants, and the vehicle owners involved is responsible as well for the alarming state, he added.
In a landmark verdict on February 22, a Manikganj court sentenced bus driver Jamir Hossain to life imprisonment, the highest punishment for any road accident in Bangladesh so far.
Jamir’s sentence was for the deaths of five people, including filmmaker Tareque Masud and cinematographer and journalist Mishuk Munier, in a road crash in 2011.
Tuesday, March 25, 2025
