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Published : 30 Mar 2026, 06:05 PM
Across Bangladesh, this year’s 15-day Eid travel period has seen an acute road safety crisis, with 394 lives lost and 1,288 injured in 377 accidents, marking an 8.95 percent rise from last year, according to the Passenger Welfare Association.
The surge has sent shockwaves through the nation, as motorcycles, buses and battery-run rickshaws claim victims on highways, regional roads, railways and waterways alike, exposing deep cracks in traffic management and public safety.
The data was presented by the organisation’s Secretary General Mozammel Haque Chowdhury at a press conference at the Dhaka Reporters Unity on Monday morning.
According to the briefing, during the same period last year, 315 road accidents killed 322 people and injured 826. That means fatalities rose by 8.26 percent, while injuries surged by 21.5 percent.
Breaking down the figures, Mozammel said 346 road accidents left 351 people dead and 1,046 injured.
Railways reported 23 accidents, resulting in 35 fatalities and 223 injuries.
On waterways, eight accidents killed as many people, injured 19, and left three missing.
The report was compiled by the association’s road accident monitoring cell through analysis of media reports.
The organisation said, “When compared with casualties in the ongoing Iran–Israel war over the past 15 days, road accident casualties in Bangladesh are far higher.”
Motorcycles remained the deadliest factor. During Eid travel:
125 motorcycle accidents killed 135 and injured 114
Accounting for 36.12 percent of total accidents
38.46 percent of deaths and nearly 10.89 percent of injuries
Vehicle involvement analysis showed:
27.16 percent motorcycles
17.73 percent trucks and covered vans
16.22 percent buses
15.28 percent battery-run rickshaws
8.49 percent cars and microbuses
7.73 percent nasimon-karimon
7.35 percent CNG-run autorickshaws
Accident patterns revealed:
35.83 percent head-on collisions
32.36 percent vehicles running over pedestrians
22.25 percent vehicles losing control and plunging into ditches
0.57 percent train-vehicle collisions
0.57 percent scarf entanglements in wheels
8.38 percent causes unknown
About 43.6 percent of accidents occurred on national highways, with the rest on regional roads, rail and waterways.
Mozammel said, “No representatives of passengers or civil society were included in Eid management meetings.”
He added, “Due to the influence of bus owners’ associations and workers’ federations, fare chaos, accidents and transport disorder increased compared with the past two Eids. Government monitoring was effectively controlled by transport owners.”
The group identified key causes, including unregulated movement of motorcycles and battery-run vehicles, lack of road signs, lighting and dividers, unsafe rail crossings, unfit vehicles, reckless driving and driver fatigue.
It urged measures such as increased use of technology, smart fare systems, halting imports of risky vehicles, improved highway lighting, skilled driver training, digital fitness certification, and service lanes on major highways.
