At least 409 pedestrians – including 66 women and 97 children – were killed between January and March this year in road accidents, according to the Road Safety Foundation (RSF).
A report prepared by RSF with information collected from seven national dailies, five online portals, and electronic media reports, blamed 61.8% of the accidents on reckless driving and 38.19% on the insincerity of pedestrians.
Of the road accidents, 123 (30.9%) occurred on highways, 95 (23.86%) on regional roads, 119 (29.89%) on village roads, 57 (14.32%) on city roads, and 4 (1%) in other places.
Among the deceased, 33.72% died in Dhaka division, 15.29% in Rajshahi, 14.9% in Chittagong, 9.8% in Khulna, 6.27% in Barisal, 4.7% in Sylhet, 6.66% in Rangpur, and 8.62% in Mymensingh.
Reckless driving, lack of driving skill, overspeeding, violation of traffic rules by pedestrians, and careless road crossing are some of the reasons identified by RSF for the frequent road accidents.
