EACH Eid, millions of Bangladeshis undertake long journeys to reunite with loved ones, carrying with them gifts, savings and hopes. These homecomings, rooted in ritual and emotion, are meant to be moments of joy. Yet, with alarming regularity, they are punctuated by devastating reports of road crashes. This year was no different. The Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity recorded at least 249 deaths and 385 injuries in 257 road accidents during the 11-day Eid-ul-Fitr holiday in 2025. The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority offered a slightly lower figure 鈥� 132 deaths from 110 accidents over eight days 鈥� but the difference in numbers does not dilute the scale of loss.
These are not just statistics. Each death reflects a life cut short, a family fractured, a future lost. In many households, Eid now brings with it an anxiety that builds until the journey home is complete. The cycle has become familiar: photos of crumpled vehicles and lifeless bodies emerge on social media, news outlets confirm casualties, a brief wave of public grief follows 鈥� and then the moment passes, like so many before.
This persistent pattern during Eid demands scrutiny. While holiday periods globally see a rise in road accidents, the sheer frequency and scale in Bangladesh point to deep systemic failures. During the recent holiday, over 465 individuals were admitted to hospitals such as National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation and Dhaka Medical College and Hospital with road traffic injuries. According to 抖阴精品, the death toll during Eid averaged 23 people a day 鈥� a figure higher than the already grim national average. In 2022, the situation had reached such extremes that international media labelled it a record-breaking period for road fatalities.
The reasons behind this pattern are well known but persist nonetheless. A confluence of institutional neglect, weak legal enforcement, powerful transport syndicates, fragile infrastructure and a lack of accountability has rendered the highways perilous. Each Eid, thousands of additional vehicles 鈥� many unauthorised and unfit 鈥� are put on the roads. Drivers, often unlicensed or overworked, are pushed to complete multiple trips within impossible deadlines. Rules on overtaking are ignored, helmets and seatbelts go unused and law enforcement remains either overwhelmed or curiously absent. In some instances, police inaction is less about capacity and more about complicity, shaped by political protection and the influence of transport unions.
The tragedy lies not in the novelty of these issues, but in their enduring presence. The 2023 academic review 鈥楻oad Accident and Safety Issue in Bangladesh: A Critical Overview鈥� laid out the failures in legal enforcement, highlighting how Bangladesh鈥檚 Motor Vehicles Ordinance is inconsistently applied and frequently undermined by political interference. Outdated fines, a lack of standardised driver training, and inconsistent inspection regimes leave the system vulnerable at every level.
Reform has been consistently elusive. Successive governments have failed to treat road safety as a priority. Even after the 2018 student protests that erupted following a fatal road accident, policy responses were largely superficial. Pledges to tighten licensing, improve vehicle inspection and digitise enforcement mechanisms have failed to materialise into meaningful change. Behind this inertia lie vested interests. The public transport sector, particularly inter-district bus operations, is dominated by syndicates with strong political ties. These actors routinely resist reform and defy regulation with little consequence.
Yet the failure is not limited to private operators. There was also neglect from government鈥檚 part to invest in basic infrastructure 鈥� pedestrian bridges, expressways, digital traffic management 鈥� particularly in high-risk areas. Intelligent transport systems, real-time monitoring and accident data mapping remain absent outside urban centres. For a country aspiring to reach developed nation status by 2041, such gaps reveal a troubling disconnect between ambition and governance.
As systemic protections remain absent, individual travellers bear the consequences. Public narratives around these crashes often attribute them to reckless drivers or weather conditions, framing them as inevitable acts of fate. But recklessness is enabled by the lack of deterrents. And weather is not the root cause, policy failure is.
There are reasons to believe improvement is possible, but only if the urgency of the crisis is recognised and matched by political will. Bangladesh is not short of expertise or policy frameworks. What it lacks is consistent, independent enforcement.
Other nations with comparable challenges have implemented reforms with measurable results. Vietnam, facing rising motorcycle use, enforced helmet laws rigorously and saw fatalities fall by 20 per cent within a year. Rwanda, by investing in regulatory oversight and public education, saw significant improvements in transport safety. Even India, with its vast transport networks, has introduced electronic fines, real-time monitoring and stricter penalties.
Bangladesh can take similar steps, but piecemeal measures will not suffice. The situation calls for integrated action involving both state agencies and civil society. Immediate reforms should include digital licensing and vehicle fitness systems tied to a national database, mandatory pre-Eid vehicle inspections with citizen oversight, and regulation of driver working hours using technology. Emergency response infrastructure, particularly along accident-prone corridors, must be developed. Restrictions on non-essential goods vehicles during peak travel periods could ease congestion and risk. A national awareness campaign 鈥� not just focused on drivers, but on passengers鈥� rights and responsibilities 鈥� would help build a culture of safety. And a dedicated Road Safety Tribunal could break the cycle of impunity by fast-tracking prosecution in fatal incidents.
These steps are technically feasible and financially attainable. What remains uncertain is whether there is the political commitment to act on them. The government鈥檚 declared vision of a 鈥榥ew Bangladesh鈥� cannot rest on economic indicators alone while the highways continue to bear witness to preventable carnage.
This is not just a transport issue. It is a governance failure, a public health concern and a test of moral leadership. Citizens must also recognise their stake in this crisis. Fatalism must give way to civic demand for accountability, better regulation and the right to travel safely.
Road deaths are not a seasonal inevitability. Joyful journeys should not lead to mourning. If there is any truth left in the promise of development, it must begin with protecting life. The country can no longer afford to treat this recurring loss as the price of tradition. The time to act is now, not after the next funeral.
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Muhammad Jahid Hasan is a freelance journalist.
