ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS AND ITS ASSOCIATED RISK FACTORS:

A STUDY ON NATIONAL HIGHWAYS IN BANGLADESH

Abstract

Bangladesh, in recent years, has witnessed a growing number of road accidents resulting in fatalities and injuries of many people. The main objective of this study was to find out the factors leading to accidental road deaths and severe injuries on national roads in Bangladesh. The study was conducted by applying (a 500) semi-structured questionnaire-based survey method. A software package, SPSS, was used to analyze the data. The study found that about (34.8%) of accidents took place by head-on collisions and (27.6%) of those by back-on collisions. About one-fifth of the respondents (20.0%) stated that accidents happened because of high speed; (19.0%) of them told about the carelessness of the drivers were responsible; and (21.4%) of them considered the mistakes of other drivers as reasons. (52.2%) were injured by a bus, 15%by truck accidents, and 9.8% of them were found to be injured by motorcycles. About (56.0%) of the accidents took place on the highways, and 34.6% of the accidents on the local roads. Therefore, the study recommended more vigilance and sincere steps from the concerned authority to ensure the proper implementation of the laws and road traffic management.