A report of the Road Safety Foundation has exposed an alarming reality. At least 314 areas across Bangladesh have become accident-prone zones where thousands of people are maimed or killed every year. The study has identified 21 ‘high-risk’ areas, including parts of Dhaka, Gazipur, Tangail, Chattogram and Mymensingh, where road deaths are disproportionately high. Based on the analysis of about 37,000 road accidents in 2020–2024, the report also categorises 118 more upazilas as heavily accident-prone and 175 as moderately so. Behind the numbers lies a tragic reality — lives lost, families shattered and communities impoverished by preventable accidents. The causes are neither new nor mysterious. The report cites faulty road designs, poor signage and markings, weak enforcement of traffic laws, reckless driving and the dangerous coexistence of slow- and fast-moving vehicles on the same highway. Besides the poor quality of road construction, inadequate pedestrian facilities and chronic neglect of maintenance have turned Bangladesh’s roads among the most perilous in the world. The human cost of this systemic neglect is devastating. In 12 years alone, according to the Passenger Welfare Association of Bangladesh, at least 116,726 people have been killed and 165,000 injured in nearly 68,000 accidents.
Every such death is a consequence of poor planning, corruption in construction and a failure to enforce basic safety standards. What is disturbing is that when the roads have turned into death traps, the authorities have virtually remained indifferent. Despite repeated promises, there is still no comprehensive national road safety strategy grounded in data, accountability and coordination among agencies. Experts have for long stressed that Bangladesh has no standard highway in the true sense of the term. Urban roads lack proper lane separation, forcing buses, cars, motorbikes and non-motorised vehicles to compete for the same space. Bypass roads for slow-moving traffic, separate lanes for high-speed vehicles and pedestrian-friendly designs are all essential but remain largely absent. Worse still, traffic engineering and road safety audits are often ignored in the planning stages of projects. The Road Safety Foundation has rightly urged the government to prepare and implement a safe and sustainable road transport strategy, built on scientific data and guided by accountability. Such a strategy should identify specific risks in each of the 314 upazilas and outline targeted engineering, enforcement and education measures. Traffic police need to be better equipped and trained, over-speeding and overloading should be strictly monitored and drivers’ licensing needs to be made rigorous and corruption-free.
The report provides a ready-made road map for targeted interventions. Each of the 314 identified upazilas demands specific, localised solutions, guided by engineering audits and community engagement. The government should now act, not in rhetoric, but in repair, redesign and reform.