Motorcycle menace on roads across the country continues unabated amid a surge in the number of motorcycles, illegal and reckless driving, driving without licence and violation of traffic rules.
From the roads in the capital Dhaka to the highways and the rural roads, a huge number of the motorcyclists are violating traffic rules on a regular basis even in front of members of the law enforcement agencies.
Currently about 73 per cent of the country鈥檚 total registered motorised vehicles is motorcycles and the highest number of fatalities in road accidents involves motorcycles, according to different reports.
According to Bangladesh Road Transport Authority data, of the total 45.8 lakh registered motorcycles in the country as of 2024, the number of driving licences for those vehicles was 37.8 lakh.
Public transport experts blamed the government鈥檚 wrong policies, including reducing the registration fee for motorcycles and lax monitoring, for the prevailing situation.
They urged the government to hike the prices of motorcycles and spare parts by imposing new taxes on those and toughen the registration system to check the situation.
According to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, the number of registered motorised vehicles in the country is 62.6 lakh, out of which 73.16 per cent or 45.8 lakh are motorcycles.
In May 2022, motorcycles accounted for about 70 per cent of the total registered vehicles, as per a previous BRTA report.
Errant driving by the motorcyclists is very common in the country and so is the fatal road accident involving them, experts said.
According to non-profit organisation Road Safety Foundation, of the total deaths and accidents in 2024, 35.76 per cent or 2,609 people were killed in 39.85 per cent or 2,761 motorcycle-related accidents.
A report by the Passenger Welfare Association of Bangladesh, another non-profit organisation, also showed that 30.08 per cent or 2,570 people were killed and 24.99 per cent or 3,151 more people were injured in 36.62 per cent or 2,329 motorcycle-related accidents in 2024.
Both the organisations prepared their reports based on media reports and their own sources.
Amid lax traffic monitoring in the political transition period after the ouster of the Awami League-led government amid a mass uprising in August past year, the drivers鈥� and pillion passengers鈥� tendency towards not wearing helmets and the riding of motorcycles by three persons heightened.
In the capital, the motorcyclists are seen driving recklessly without following police signals and lanes and driving on footpath.
At different points of the capital, a huge number of聽 motorcyclists can be seen waiting for carrying passengers 鈥� mostly illegally 鈥� by not using ridesharing apps.
Many of the motorcyclists, especially the younger and teenager ones, also do not have driving licence.
Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology鈥檚 Accident Research Institute director professor Md Shamsul Hoque said that out of all fatal road accidents each year, 35 to 40 per cent involved motorcycles.
鈥楾wo-wheeler vehicles are 30 times riskier than the four-wheeler ones,鈥� he mentioned, adding 鈥楾he number of motorcycles is increasing uncontrollably due to the government鈥檚 wrong policy.鈥�
Mentioning a government step of halving the registration fee for motorcycles in February 2021 following the demand of the manufacturers, he said that the government should immediately go back to the previous registration fee on motorcycles.
Shamsul said that the tendency of youths towards not wearing helmets and taking extra people on motorcycles might not be changed easily in the current scenario after the political change.
He also urged the government to increase the prices of motorcycle, its spare parts and impose taxes to reduce the number of motorcycles on roads.
BUET professor Md Hadiuzzaman, who has specialisation in transportation engineering and a former director of the ARI, said that following the introduction of the ridesharing services, the number of motorcycles increased by several folds.
鈥楾hese motorcyclists can be seen everywhere in Dhaka city and most of them do not use any ridesharing apps hence bargain with passengers,鈥� he said, adding that riding without using app was a security threat also.
Introduced in 2016, the app-based ridesharing services, particularly in Dhaka and other metropolitan cities, have gained popularity and become a full-time earning source for many people.
Hadiuzzaman also alleged that the government implemented the Ridesharing Services Guideline 2017 without any research.
He urged the authorities to offer professional driving licences to the motorcyclists, increase their skills and increase monitoring on roads.
Bangladesh Road Transport Authority chairman Mohammed Yasin said that they were regularly conducting mobile courts against violations on roads with the support of police.
Actions are also being taken against the errant motorcyclists, he added.聽
According to the BRTA data, 1.16 lakh motorcycles were registered in 2010 and the figure almost doubled in 2015 when 2.29 lakh motorcycles were registered.
With a steady rise in recent years, the highest 5.06 lakh motorcycles were registered in 2022.
