Road crash deaths in Bangladesh rose by about 26 percent between 2018 and 2025, according to data from passengers' welfare platform Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity, released as the country marked National Road Safety Day on October 22.
The platform recorded 9,111 deaths in 6,729 crashes in 2025, up from 7,221 deaths in 5,514 crashes in 2018. From January 2018 to June 2026, 68,285 people were killed, an average of 22 deaths a day, The Daily Star reported.
Registered motorcycles more than doubled over the same period, from 24.13 lakh to 50.80 lakh. More than 6.26 lakh vehicles lacked updated fitness certificates as of July 2025, and highway police estimate they need at least 6,000 more personnel.
A draft Road Safety Act, 2026, which the government aims to pass by 2027, proposes emergency treatment for crash victims without advance payment, mandatory road safety audits, and doubled penalties for repeat offences.
"A large number of working-age people are losing their lives," said Anisur Rahman, additional secretary of the Road Transport and Highways Division.
Representative photo: traffic on Mirpur Road, Dhaka. Photo: Yahya, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
