Road safety day: At least 2,513 died travelling to or from school

As six-year-old Tanvir Islam Arian waited by the roadside to return home after school on April 19, a covered van struck him near Keowa Purba Khondo Government Primary School in Dhaka.

The Grade 2 student was rushed to hospital, but doctors declared him dead on arrival.

Arian never made it home.

For his family, an ordinary school day ended in an unimaginable loss. For thousands of other families across Bangladesh, the tragedy is painfully familiar.

Between January 2020 and September 2026, at least 7,963 children were killed in road crashes across Bangladesh, accounting for nearly 18 percent of the 44,816 fatalities recorded during the period, according to the Road Safety Foundation (RSF).

Of them, 2,513 (31.56 percent) died travelling to or from educational institutions, while another 12 percent were killed playing on roads near their homes. Another 2,812 (35.31 percent) died while crossing or walking along roads.

As Bangladesh observes Road Safety Day today, the figures underscore the dangers that persist nearly eight years after the student-led road safety movement of 2018 prompted promises of sweeping reforms.

RSF compiled the report from nine national dailies, 17 national and regional online news portals, electronic media reports and its own sources.

Its Executive Director Saidur Rahman said few schools have dedicated buses, forcing students to walk along busy roads or use unsafe public transport.

“Many educational institutions are located beside highways and major roads without pedestrian crossings, speed-calming measures, traffic signals or adequate footpaths,” he told The Daily Star.

Parents and campaigners said zebra crossings are often absent or ignored, while speeding vehicles endanger children in school zones, particularly where designated walkways and traffic police are lacking.

Motorcycle riders and passengers accounted for the largest share of child fatalities, at 2,958 (37.14 percent), while another 2,193 (27.53 percent) died as passengers in other vehicles.

Among pedestrian deaths, three-wheelers, including CNG-run auto-rickshaws, auto-tempos, Nasimons and other locally made vehicles, killed 1,271 children. Heavy vehicles, including buses, trucks, covered vans and pickup trucks, killed 1,126, while private cars, microbuses, ambulances and jeeps were involved in 317 deaths. Motorcycles killed another 98.

Rural roads were the deadliest, claiming 2,713 children’s lives, followed by regional roads (2,082), highways (1,974) and urban roads (1,194).

Afternoons recorded the most fatalities (2,634), followed by mornings (2,168), midday (1,813), night (598), evening (546) and dawn (204).

RSF blamed speeding, reckless driving, weak traffic law enforcement, poor road safety awareness among drivers, parents and children, and unsafe road design, particularly in rural areas. It said the transport system fails to protect children, leaving them disproportionately vulnerable.

The government is preparing a comprehensive road safety law, targeting enactment in 2027. The draft proposes banning children under six from motorcycles and those under 14 or shorter than 135 centimetres from front car seats, while requiring appropriate safety restraints.

Road Transport and Highways Division Additional Secretary Anisur Rahman said the proposed law would address gaps in the Road Transport Act, 2018. Separate guidelines on standard helmet use and pedestrian safety are also being developed.

Saidur said schools lack adequate road safety education, while drivers often fail to exercise caution near educational institutions.

“Speeding and reckless driving continue to endanger road users, while weak monitoring allows traffic violations to go unchecked,” he said, calling for technology-based speed monitoring, better driver training and regulatory reforms.

Kazi Md Shifun Newaz, assistant professor at Buet’s Accident Research Institute, said schools should be built away from roads and highways.

“Road safety education is not a structured part of our school curriculum. In many countries, children learn from an early age how to cross roads safely, use footpaths and follow traffic rules. Such initiatives are largely absent in Bangladesh,” he said.

He said clear, organised school surroundings and footpaths would help drivers spot children and children see approaching vehicles.

“Under the current conditions, children often emerge suddenly onto roads, leading to accidents. Parents also place too little emphasis on teaching safe road behaviour,” he said.

Children often ride motorcycles without helmets, while parents cross roads indiscriminately, violating traffic rules, he added.

“Children tend to imitate these behaviours, making it difficult for them to understand road risks and normalising unsafe practices. These problems are particularly acute around schools.”

Meanwhile, Anisur said, the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) was conducting awareness programmes and training in schools and colleges.

“Efforts are underway to incorporate road-use rules and safety issues more comprehensively into textbooks so that students can learn about safe road use from an early age. We also want to engage young people more actively in road safety initiatives.”

In February, the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education proposed introducing traffic and road safety education in primary schools, including safe road-crossing practices.

125,405 PEOPLE KILLED SINCE 2014

At least 125,405 people were killed and 176,249 injured in 72,736 road crashes between January 2014 and June 30 this year, according to the Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity.

The organisation compiled the figures from media reports and said actual casualties could be significantly higher, although it provided no hospital-based data to substantiate the claim.

It cited speeding, dangerous overtaking, passenger overloading, prolonged driving without rest, faulty road design, missing dividers, dangerous bends, wrong-way driving and weak traffic law enforcement as major causes.

Its Secretary General Mojammel Hoque Chowdhury alleged that successive governments, including the previous Awami League administration, had pursued flawed transport policies that neglected rail and water transport, increasing dependence on roads.

He also blamed corruption, extortion and weak enforcement for allowing unfit vehicles and unlicensed or inadequately trained drivers to operate unchecked.

“The lack of dedicated bus networks and adequate mass transit has also forced people to rely on smaller, often riskier modes of transport, including motorcycles, battery-powered rickshaws and CNG-run auto-rickshaws,” he said.

The organisation called for greater involvement of local and international transport experts, stronger BRTA capacity, a modern technology-based bus network, advanced traffic management, better driver training and modernised vehicle fitness inspections.