As the number of motorcycles continues to rise across Bangladesh, so too does the grim toll of road accident fatalities. Experts and safety advocates attribute the increase largely to reckless driving, inadequate law enforcement, and a widespread lack of awareness among desperate riders.
According to road safety specialists, the majority of those killed in motorcycle-related accidents are young individuals aged between 14 and 45 — representing a significant portion of the nation’s working-age population.
Recent statistics reveal that motorcyclists now account for more than 35% of all road crash fatalities, placing Bangladesh among countries with the highest road death rates globally. Data compiled by the Road Safety Foundation shows that between 2020 and 2024, there were 30,773 recorded road accidents, leading to 33,246 deaths.
Despite nationwide lockdowns during the early phase of the pandemic, road deaths remained high. In 2020 alone, 5,431 people died in traffic accidents, followed by 6,284 in 2021, some 7,713 in 2022, 6,524 in 2023, and 7,294 in 2024.
Motorcycle-related deaths stood out in these figures, with 11,864 fatalities from 11,725 motorbike accidents over the five-year period—meaning that more people died than the number of accidents recorded. In simple terms, for every 100 motorcycle crashes, at least 101 people lost their lives.
Veteran road safety activist and actor Ilias Kanchan, who leads the advocacy group Nirapad Sarak Chai, pointed to high-speed riding, poor training, and lack of discipline as key causes of these fatal accidents.
“Young riders are dying at alarming rates. Most of them lack proper training and disregard traffic laws. Worse still, many are unaware of the risks they’re taking,” he told The Times of Bangladesh. He called for stricter law enforcement and widespread safety education campaigns to reverse the trend.
On roads nationwide, especially in urban areas, motorcyclists are often seen weaving dangerously through traffic, exceeding speed limits, overtaking recklessly, and clashing with other drivers in moments of road rage.
The situation worsened during the Eid holidays this time too.
The Bangladesh Passenger Welfare Association reported 135 motorcycle accidents and 151 deaths between March 24 and April 7 — a striking example of the dangers motorcycles pose on Bangladesh’s roads. Again, the fatality rate was unusually high: 111 deaths per 100 accidents.
Motorcycles currently dominate Bangladesh’s roadways. As of March 2025, motorcycles account for 73% of all registered motor vehicles in the country, according to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA).
Of the 6.34 million registered vehicles, 4.66 million are motorcycles, and 3.4 million of these were added just in the last decade.
Annual motorcycle registrations reflect a fluctuating but generally upward trend such as in some 311,016 were added in 2020, 375,252 in 2021, 506,912 in 2022, 310418 in 2023 and 262,715 in 2024.
However, BRTA officials estimate that the actual number of motorcycles in use — including unregistered ones — is even higher.
When asked, BRTA Chairman Mohammad Yasin said that policies are being developed to better regulate motorcycle usage, including preventing sales to individuals without valid driving permits.
“We are looking for alternative ways to reduce registrations without disrupting access entirely,” he added.
Between 2020 and 2024, the number of motorcycle fatalities surged year-on-year as follows: 2020: 1,463 deaths, 2021: 2,214 deaths, 2022: 3,091 deaths, 2023: 2,487 deaths, 2024: 2,609 deaths.
Experts like Shamsul Haque, director of BUET’s Accident Research Institute, highlight that the motorbikes inherently pose higher risks compared to other vehicles.
“In serious crashes, riders often die on the spot. The lack of quick access to emergency care only worsens the toll,” he said.
Mozammel Haque Chowdhury, secretary general of the Passenger Welfare Association, said actual accident figures may be far higher than reported.
“We only use media reports. But if data from hospitals across districts and divisions were aggregated, the numbers could increase to manifold,” he warned.
According to Road Safety Foundation’s 2024 data, 75.23% of motorcycle fatalities involved victims aged 14 to 45. The accidents occurred mainly due to head-on collisions (23%), loss of control (38.17%) and collisions with heavy vehicles (37%), it added.
Responsibility was found to lie with motorcycle riders in 36.65% of the cases, while bus and truck drivers were at fault in 47.66%, the foundation says adding regional highways accounted for nearly 40% of all such accidents.
“If we cannot enforce motorcycle regulations on highways, both national and regional, it will be impossible to reduce fatalities, said Saidur Rahman, executive director of the Road Safety Foundation.
“Enforcement and awareness are important — but they must be supported by road design and infrastructure improvements,” he told The Times of Bangladesh.