A total of 588 people lost their lives and 1,124 others were injured in 593 road accidents across Bangladesh in April, according to a monthly report released by the Road Safety Foundation (RSF) on Sunday.
Among the fatalities were 86 women and 78 children. Motorcycles were involved in 218 of the reported incidents, resulting in 229 deaths.
The report also highlighted seven waterway accidents that killed eight people and injured four, while 22 railway-related accidents claimed 24 lives and left six injured.
The RSF compiled its findings from nine national newspapers, seven online news portals, and various electronic media sources.
Dhaka division recorded the highest number of road accidents, with 173 incidents leading to 154 deaths. Rangpur division reported the fewest, with 31 accidents and 32 fatalities.
At the district level, Chittagong saw 35 accidents resulting in 46 deaths. In contrast, Nilphamari reported several accidents but no fatalities. Within Dhaka city, 34 accidents caused 19 deaths and injured 27 people.
The RSF attributed the high number of accidents to various factors, including unfit vehicles, reckless driving, untrained drivers, the presence of slow-moving vehicles on highways, and widespread violations of traffic laws.
To address these issues, the foundation recommended training more skilled drivers, enforcing traffic regulations more strictly, removing slow-moving vehicles from major roads, and building separate service roads for safer transportation.
