At least 513 people, including 63 children, were killed and 598 injured in 409 road accidents in March, Road Safety Foundation said Monday.

The non-government organisation also said 147 lives were lost in 138 motorcycle accidents, which is 28.65% of the total deaths.

Also, around 136 pedestrians and 82 drivers and their assistants were killed in accidents last month.

Also read: Bangladesh's roads remain perilous; 37,170 killed in 5 years

Accidents on waterways claimed at least two lives and injured eight while 19 were killed and 15 injured in train accidents.

The maximum number of road accidents took place in Dhaka division where 136 accidents claimed 119 lives while Barishal saw the lowest number of accidents where 26 lives were lost in 21 accidents. 

Road Safety Foundation came up with the findings, based on the reports of seven national dailies, five online news portals and electronic media.

It pinned the blame on unfit vehicles, speed, unskilled drivers, slow-moving transport on highways, reckless motorcycle driving and weak traffic management.

Also read: 8 killed in separate road crashes in Faridpur

Meanwhile, at least 484 people were killed and 673 others injured in 427 road accidents in January this year.

The accident rate increased 25.58% while fatalities rose by 8.76% compared to the same period of last year, Road Safety Foundation said. "At least 445 lives were lost in 340 road accidents in January 2020."

Also read: 3 dead in Jashore, Panchagarh road accidents

In a report released in February 2020, the World Bank said, "Bangladesh needs to invest an estimated $7.8 billion over the next decade to halve its road crash fatalities."

The report linked the high death rate on Bangladesh's roads with a lack of investments in systemic, targeted, and sustained road safety programmes.