No end to road carnage

At least 19 people were killed and dozens injured in a series of road crashes across the country on Friday, laying bare the country’s continuing road safety crisis despite repeated pledges to improve enforcement. 

The deaths came as new figures showed that 3,387 people have been killed in 3,752 road accidents nationwide between 1 January and 7 August this year, underscoring the scale of a problem experts say is driven by systemic failures rather than isolated incidents.

Friday’s fatalities included seven day labourers waiting for work in Bogura, nine passengers in a head-on bus collision in Sylhet, a married couple killed in another crash in Bogura, and a motorcyclist in Bagerhat.

According to data shared with the Daily Sun by the Road Safety Foundation (RSF), 232 people have died in bus crashes so far this year, accounting for about 6.9% of all road deaths during the period. 

In July alone, 416 people were killed and 629 injured in 458 road crashes across the country.

Experts point to systemic failures

The RSF identified five key reasons behind the country’s persistently high road death toll: technological shortcomings on highways, inadequate highway policing, poor working conditions for professional drivers, unfit vehicles and deteriorating road conditions.

The organisation noted that only around 3,000 kilometres of Bangladesh’s nearly 9,000 kilometres of highways are covered by highway police. 

It also said many professional drivers work long hours with inadequate rest, leaving them exhausted and, in some cases, under the influence of drugs. Poor vehicle inspections and the continued operation of unfit buses further compound the risks.

RSF Executive Director Md Saidur Rahman said road crashes could be reduced substantially if these structural problems were addressed.

“There must be strong government commitment and effective coordination among all the relevant agencies if road safety is to improve,” he told the Daily Sun.

Kazi Md Shifun Newaz, an assistant professor at the Accident Research Institute (ARI) of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), said Fridays often see a rise in crashes because of increased holiday travel.

“Many people travel to their hometowns on Fridays, while long-distance bus operators try to maximise profits by making extra trips. Drivers often do not get adequate rest, leading to fatigue and more reckless driving,” he said.

Deadly crashes in Bogura and Sylhet

The day’s deadliest incidents occurred in Bogura and Sylhet.

In Bogura, seven labourers were killed and nine others injured after a passenger bus lost control and ploughed into workers waiting for jobs beside the Bogura-Naogaon regional highway in Erulia Silkibanda at around 6.30am.

Police said the Shah Fateh Ali Paribahan bus, travelling from Dhaka to Naogaon, first struck an electricity pole before running over the workers. 

Three people died at the scene, while four others later died at Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital.

Bogura Sadar police station Officer-in-Charge Ibrahim Ali said the victims were local day labourers.

Around an hour later, nine people were killed and at least 25 injured in a head-on collision between a Sylhet-bound Bengal Paribahan bus and a Dhaka-bound Unique Paribahan bus at Kashikapan in Osmaninagar on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway.

The force of the collision sent the Unique Paribahan bus into a roadside ditch, killing nine passengers at the scene. The injured were taken to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital.

Faruk Mia, 52, one of the survivors, said he had been travelling with friends after visiting the shrine of Hazrat Shahjalal (RA).

“I was asleep when the accident happened. I woke up after hearing a loud noise,” he said, adding that his friend Saiful Islam, a contractor, was among those killed.

More deaths in Bagerhat and Bogura

In Bagerhat, motorcyclist Saikat, 38, was killed in a head-on collision with a truck on the Bagerhat-Khulna highway at Sreeghat on Friday afternoon.
Kata Khali Highway police station Officer-in-Charge Md Zafar Ahmed said the truck driver fled the scene after the crash, although police later seized the vehicle.

Just hours after the morning tragedy, another fatal crash occurred in Bogura’s Erulia area.

Gold trader Babul Hasan, 50, and his wife Jesmin Bibi, 45, were killed when a private car lost control and struck their motorcycle on the Bogura-Naogaon regional highway. Their seven-year-old grandson, who was travelling with them, was injured but is reported to be out of danger.

Police said the driver fled after the collision, while the vehicle was seized. Legal action is under way.

The second fatal crash in the same area on the same day has further heightened concerns over road safety on the highway.

Government promises tougher enforcement

Amid mounting concern over the growing death toll, State Minister for Railways and Road Transport and Highways Habibur Rashid Habib said the government would introduce drug tests for professional drivers as part of stricter enforcement measures.

He said long-distance bus drivers would face roadside drug tests through mobile courts, while unfit buses would no longer be left idle but dismantled and sold as scrap.

The government also plans regular surprise drives on highways and major roads, with stricter legal action against speeding, reckless driving and the operation of unfit vehicles.

“The government will remain uncompromising so that not a single more life is lost due to a driver’s negligence or reckless driving,” Habib told the Daily Sun.

He said ensuring safer roads would require coordinated action by the administration, law enforcement agencies, the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) and other relevant organisations.