7,902 killed on the roads in 2023

Over 7,902 people were killed in 6,261 road accidents last year, said a Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity (BJKS) report released yesterday.

However, according to Bangladesh Road Transport Authority's report on the same matter, 5,024 people were killed in 5,425 road accidents – 2,878 deaths lower – representing a huge discrepancy with the data presented by Jatri Kalyan Samity, a passengers welfare platform.

The BRTA termed the Samity report "made up", stating that the data is not authentic and cannot present the exact picture of the country's road accidents.

Nur Mohammad Majumder, chairman of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), said, "It is a made-up report. The organisation has no manpower to collect all the information on accidents across the country. As their report is based on media reports, there might be a huge information overlap."

On the other hand, he claimed that the BRTA data is "100 percent authentic" and that it was based on information collected on accidents from every corner of the country.

"We asked the Jatri Kalyan Samity to provide authentic data regarding accidents if they have any, but they failed to do so."

Mozammel Hoque Chowdhury, secretary general of Jatri Kalyan Samity, however, affirmed the accuracy of their report, stating that the BRTA habitually dismissed their findings as fabricated.

He highlighted the BRTA's tendency to minimise accident numbers and deaths, asserting that it seeks to undermine BJKS's report rather than address the real issues.

He pointed out that such discrepancies also exist between BRTA's data and that of the World Health Organization.

"However, challenging WHO seems unattainable to BRTA," he said, emphasising that the BRTA's focus should be on solving issues rather than suppressing dissent, as effective measures would significantly reduce road accidents and fatalities.

According to the Accidents Monitoring Cell's Annual observation report by Jatri Kalyan Samity, the year 2023 saw a decrease in the number of road accidents from the year before.

In 2022, the country recorded 6,749 road crashes, claiming over 10,000 lives, indicating a decrease of 488 accidents in the past year.

The report disclosed that 10,372 people were injured in road accidents in the country last year.

Motorcycles were involved in 32.4 percent of all accidents, with 2,031 incidents causing 2,152 fatalities.

Over the last nine years, the report highlighted a four- to five-time increase in the number of registered vehicles, particularly motorcycles and easy bikes, contributing to the rise in road accidents.

It attributed road accidents and fatalities to the free movement of motorcycles and three-wheelers on highways, in violation of the government's ban.

Apart from motorcycles, out of 8,550 vehicles involved in road crashes, buses constituted 16.15 percent; trucks and vans 24.84 percent; cars and microbuses 5.91 percent; CNG-run auto-rickshaws 5.39 percent; battery-run rickshaws and easy bikes 14.47 percent; and Nasimon, Karimon, Mahindra, tractors and CNG-run auto-rickshaws 7.19 percent.

The report further attributed the accidents to factors such as reckless driving, overtaking, road defects due to construction, movement of unfit vehicles, passenger and pedestrian negligence, and driver incompetence.

The organisation proposed 13 recommendations, including recognising road accidents as a more significant epidemic than Covid-19; prioritising safety in government projects; expediting the formulation of the Road Safety Act; increasing the budget for road safety; strengthening the road safety unit in the transport ministry; implementing previous recommendations; installing road signs and traffic signals; and improving zebra crossings through proper lighting and markings.

The report added that apart from road accidents, there were 520 rail and 148 river route accidents in the country last year, resulting in the death of 603 people.