In December 2025, a total of 503 people were killed and 1,186 injured in 547 road accidents across the country. Among the fatalities were 82 students, 78 children and 66 women.
The figures were revealed in statistics compiled by the Road Safety Foundation. The report, prepared using data from nine national dailies, seven online news portals, various electronic media and the organisation’s own sources, said that 40.55 percent of all deaths in December resulted from motorcycle accidents.
A total of 204 people were killed in 238 motorcycle crashes, while 131 pedestrians and 63 drivers and assistants also lost their lives.
Beyond road accidents, nine waterway incidents left 14 people dead and five injured, while 36 people were killed and 11 injured in 38 railway track accidents.
The foundation’s observation found that 194 accidents occurred on national highways, 217 on regional roads, 53 on rural roads, 76 on city roads and seven in other locations.
Among the 987 vehicles involved, motorcycles topped the list with 263, followed by three-wheelers at 166, trucks at 137 and buses at 123, alongside a mix of other vehicles including pickups, covered vans, microbuses, private cars, rickshaws and locally made vehicles.
Division-wise data showed Chattogram recorded the highest share of accidents at 22.30 percent, where 122 crashes killed 107 people.
Dhaka followed with 20.47 percent of the accidents, while Rajshahi accounted for 17.55 percent, Rangpur 13.52 percent, Khulna 9.68 percent, Sylhet 5.66 percent, Mymensingh 5.48 percent and Barishal 5.30 percent.
The Road Safety Foundation blamed defective vehicles, poor road conditions, excessive speed and reckless driving for the continued loss of lives on the roads.
It also cited drivers’ lack of skills, physical and mental illness, the absence of fixed wages and working hours, and the movement of slow vehicles on highways.
Reckless motorcycle riding by youths, poor knowledge and enforcement of traffic laws, weak traffic management, capacity constraints at the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority and extortion in the public transport sector were also identified as key factors.
