Road vehicular accidents have been so frequent and common to everyday life that people tend to disregard that these “high velocity moving lumps of metal” are very lethal and sometimes pose as “weapons of mass destruction” A traffic accident is defined as any vehicle accident occurring on a public highway (i.e. originating on, terminating on, or involving a vehicle partially on the highway). These accidents therefore include collisions between vehicles and animals, vehicles and pedestrians, or vehicles and fixed obstacles. Single vehicle accidents, in which one vehicle alone (and no other road user) was involved, are included. All fatality and injury totals include pedestrians, motorcyclists and bicyclists unless otherwise note. Time and again, various circles, media included, have pointed out that stringent enforcement of traffic rules and regulations, and routine examination of fitness certificates and other relevant documents of motorised vehicles and driving licences of the drivers could play a major role in bringing down the number of road traffic accidents and fatalities. The problem is acute in Bangladesh, which has one of the highest fatality rates for road accidents in the world.
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