Dhaka roads claimed 1,384 lives since 2020

At least 1,384 people were killed and 2,488 injured in 1,849 road accidents across the capital between 2020 and July 2026, with pedestrians and motorcyclists accounting for more than 80 percent of the fatalities, according to the Road Safety Foundation (RSF).

RSF data show that of those killed, 1,034 were men, 219 women and 131 children.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

Pedestrians were the worst-affected group, accounting for 592 deaths. Road crashes were most frequent at night, when 519 people were killed.

Heavy vehicles, including trucks, covered vans, pickups, tankers and garbage trucks, were involved in 33.25 percent of the accidents, followed by motorcycles at 26 percent, buses at 21.75 percent, auto-rickshaws, CNG-run vehicles and legunas at 12.73 percent, and private cars, microbuses and jeeps at 6.25 percent.

According to the analysis, the absence of bypass roads forces heavy vehicles to travel through the capital between 10:00pm and dawn, increasing the risk to pedestrians.

It also noted that prolonged traffic congestion contributes to impatience and aggressive driving, further increasing the likelihood of crashes.

The report attributed the high number of accidents to inadequate road capacity compared with the growing number of vehicles, the mixed movement of slow- and high-speed traffic, encroached footpaths, poorly located or unusable footbridges, and a lack of awareness among road users.

Jatrabari, Demra, Mohammadpur, Kuril, Biswa Road and Airport Road were identified as major accident hotspots.

The report called for stronger coordination among the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation, Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority, the two city corporations and traffic police to implement comprehensive road safety measures.