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The victims included 80 drivers, 89 transport workers, 59 pedestrians, 64 women, 45 children, 66 students, five law enforcers, three teachers, one doctor, three journalists, one engineer and four political activists, said the report.

Mozammel said the government’s 10-12 days of Eid-focused monitoring would not be sufficient to save lives or reduce suffering during such a large-scale movement of people.

He called for short, medium, and long-term plans, alongside a major reshaping of the public transport system.

The organisation attributed the accidents to the movement of motorcycles, battery-run rickshaws and auto-rickshaws on highways, the absence of adequate road signs and markings, poor lighting, road defects, unfit vehicles, unskilled drivers, reckless speeding, overloading, wrong-side driving, extortion, rain-induced potholes and prolonged driving hours without rest.

It also recommended the introduction of a modern bus network, technology-driven traffic management, proper driver training, service lanes and footpaths on highways, improved road maintenance, regular road safety audits, stronger capacity at the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), and an end to monopoly control in the transport sector.