Report: Road crashes kill 207 in 11 days around Eid

At least 207 people died and another 289 were injured in 158 road accidents across the country in the past 11 days, according to a recent study.  

Between July 14 and 24, an average of 17.61 deaths occurred on a daily basis, notes the study, based on media reports, by the Road Safety Foundation.

Seventy-six motorcycle accidents left 87 people killed, which accounted for 48.1 percent of the total number of deaths, according to a media statement by the organization.

Also Read - 249 lives lost on the road during Eid holidays

Not only passengers but 43 pedestrians and 32 drivers were also victims of the accidents.

Last year before Eid-ul-Azha, 229 people were killed in 18 accidents. The death toll averaged 17.35 in a day. The study shows that the number of fatalities has increased this year during the holidays.

According to the division-wise statistics, most road accidents occurred in Dhaka, killing 48 people in 33 accidents. In contrast, Sylhet recorded only four fatalities. 

The report also mentions four boat accidents before and after Eid, which resulted in the death of two persons and injuries to 27 others. There were also two railway accidents in which two persons died. 

The foundation identified 10 main causes of accidents, among which were defective vehicles, speeding, inexperienced drivers, slow traffic on highways, reckless biking, and poor traffic management.  

The foundation proposed 10 measures to curb accidents. These include: developing skills among drivers, setting fixed salaries and working hours for drivers, increasing the capacity of BRTA, ensuring an uninterrupted application of traffic laws, constructing road dividers, and more.