As many as 476 people, including 77 children, were killed and 794 were injured in 407 road accidents across the country in September.

Besides, 169 lives were lost in 182 motorcycle accidents, which is 35.50% of the total deaths, the Road Safety Foundation said in its latest report, released on Monday.

Also, 103 pedestrians and 63 drivers and their assistants were killed during this period.

Accidents on waterways claimed at least 78 lives while three people went missing in nine river accidents and 19 were killed and six injured in train accidents across Bangladesh last month.

Road Safety Foundation based its findings on the reports of nine national dailies, seven online news portals and electronic media.

Of the total accidents, 234 accidents occurred on the national highways, 158 on regional roads, 73 on rural roads, 36 on city roads and six in other places, said the report.

The RSF pointed out several major reasons behind the rise in the number of road accidents.

The reasons include - faulty vehicles; reckless driving; desperate mentality, incompetence and illness of drivers; unsettled wages and working hours; prevalence of low-speed traffic on highways; reckless motorcycling by the youth; the tendency of flouting traffic rules, poor management of traffic; lack of efficiency of the BRTA; and extortion in the sector.

The RSF urged the authorities concerned to take necessary initiative to address the issues.