7,359 killed in road crashes nationwide in 2025: Road Safety Foundation

At least 7,359 people were killed and 16,476 injured in road accidents across Bangladesh in 2025, according to data released by the Road Safety Foundation (RSF).

Women accounted for 962 of the fatalities, while 1,008 children lost their lives, the private research organisation said at a press conference held on Saturday at the Dhaka Reporters Unity in Segunbagicha.

Motorcycle-related crashes remained the deadliest, accounting for 36 percent of total fatalities. The RSF reported that 2,672 people were killed in 3,029 motorcycle accidents last year—nearly 40 percent of all road crashes.

According to the report, Bangladesh recorded 7,584 road accidents in 2025. During the same period, 132 waterway accidents killed 149 people, injured 123 and left 34 missing, while 519 railway accidents claimed 478 lives and injured 152 others. Combined fatalities from road, rail and waterway accidents stood at 7,986.

The RSF noted a worsening trend compared to 2024, when 7,294 people were killed in 6,927 road accidents. Year-on-year, road accidents rose by about 10 percent, while the number of injured increased by more than 25 percent.

The report was compiled using data from nine national dailies, seven online news portals, television channels and the organisation’s own records.

RSF data also showed that working-age adults between 18 and 65 accounted for 5,723 deaths—nearly 78 percent of total road fatalities.

Speaking at the briefing, RSF Chairman Professor A I Mahbub Uddin Ahmed said motorcycles now make up about 71 percent of registered vehicles in the country, with a large number driven by teenagers and young adults.

“Reckless speeding by motorcycle riders is not only putting their own lives at risk but also endangering others,” he said.

He also pointed to weak coordination among transport-related agencies—including the BRTA, BRTC, DTCA, police, city corporations and municipalities—as a major barrier to improving road safety.

“Institutional weaknesses, poor management and lack of accountability mean that road discipline is not improving and accidents are not declining,” he said, adding that initiatives often remain limited to meetings, workshops and committees.

The foundation identified 13 major causes of road accidents, including faulty vehicles, overloading, unskilled or unfit drivers, absence of fixed wages and working hours, poor road infrastructure, reckless motorcycle riding by youths, weak enforcement of traffic laws, and limited capacity and accountability at the BRTA. It also placed 21 recommendations to curb road deaths.