Bangladesh: Road death toll high nationwide this weekend

Event

On September 2, at least 15 died in road accidents across the country. In Rangpur, seven were killed in a head-on collision between two buses, three in capital city Dakha and in Bogra, one in Narayanganj and Chittagong. 60 more people were wounded in these crashes. Meanwhile, two bikers and a pedestrian were killed in two road accidents in the capital.

Context

From August 16 to 28, over 250 people died and nearly 1000 were injured in 240 road accidents, when the transport sector experienced increased number of passengers due to the Eid holidays. The accidents took place despite measures introduced by the authorities to improve road safety and in the aftermath of the recent student protests for safer roads.

Advice

Several Western governments remind their citizens visiting Bangladesh that traffic is heavy and chaotic in urban areas, and that roads are usually in a bad state while road safety is very poor.