Eid holiday: 11 days, 257 road crashes, 249 lives lost

On an average, 22 people were killed each day during the Eid-ul-Fitr vacation across the country, Road Safety Foundation (RSF) said in a report yesterday.

The nonprofit volunteer organisation, which analysed different media reports and also collected accident data from various sources, said 249 people including 41 women and 59 children were killed in 257 road accidents between March 26 and April 5.

The report highlighted that during the 15-day Eid-ul-Fitr vacation last year, 367 people were killed, averaging 24 fatalities per day, while 20 casualties per day were recorded over the 14 days of vacation in 2023.

RSF noted that, according to media reports, 553 individuals were injured in road accidents this year; however, the actual number of injuries could exceed 2,000, with 571 injured people admitted to the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR) in just two days during Eid.

The report said the highest number of fatalities involved motorbike drivers or pillions, with 106 killed in 114 accidents.

Besides, 49 were three-wheeler passengers, 39 pedestrians, 18 private car or microbus passengers, 14 bus passengers, 10 locally-made vehicle passengers, nine truck or pick-up van or tractor or trolly passengers, and four bicycle riders.

It said 32 of the deceased were either drivers or their assistants of various vehicles.

During the vacation, 13 people died and 15 others were injured in six waterway accidents. Besides, 12 people died and eight were injured in 17 railway accidents.

The report outlined that out of the total accidents, 68 were head-on collisions, 113 were due to drivers losing control, 41 involved running over pedestrians, and 11 involved collisions with other vehicles from behind.

Accidents occurred on various roads, with 87 on national highways, 98 on regional highways, 43 on rural roads, and 29 on urban roads. A total of 408 vehicles were involved in accidents, including 119 motorbikes, 88 three-wheelers, 78 buses, 29 trucks, and 21 locally made vehicles.

The report found that the highest percentage of accidents, 26.84 percent, occurred in the afternoon, followed by 23.34 percent in the morning, 21 percent at noon, 17.5 percent at night, 8.17 percent in the evening, and 3.11 percent around dawn.

Dhaka division saw the highest number of fatalities, with 62 deaths in 74 accidents, while Sylhet division recorded the lowest, with six deaths in seven accidents. District-wise, Chattogram saw the highest fatalities, with 31 people killed in 18 accidents. In the capital, seven people were killed, and 48 were injured in 31 accidents.

The report identified reckless motorbike driving by teenagers and young adults as a major contributing factor to the accidents, noting that 57 percent of motorbike accident victims were aged between 14 and 20.

Other contributing factors included faulty vehicles, overspeeding, unspecified wages and working hours, drivers' lack of skills, physical and mental illness, the presence of slow-moving vehicles on highways, violations and lack of knowledge of traffic rules, poor traffic management, the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority's lack of capacity, and extortion in the transport sector.

In its recommendations, RSF suggested creating more skilled drivers, establishing fixed working hours and wages for drivers, increasing the capacity of the BRTA, strictly enforcing traffic rules, and eliminating extortion in the transport sector.