9,111 killed in road accidents in 2025: BPWA

Bangladesh recorded 9,111 road fatalities and 14,812 injuries in 6,729 accidents in 2025, the Bangladesh Passenger Welfare Association (BPWA) reported.

BPWA General Secretary Md Mozammel Haque Chowdhury confirmed the figures at a press conference held at the Dhaka Reporters Unity on Sunday, January 4.

Motorcycles were involved in 2,493 accidents, accounting for 37% of all road incidents, causing 2,983 deaths and 2,219 injuries. Compared to 2024, road accidents rose 6.94%, fatalities 5.79%, and injuries 14.87%.

Including rail and waterway accidents, total incidents reached 7,369, resulting in 9,754 deaths and 15,096 injuries. Rail accidents caused 485 deaths, while waterways accounted for 158 deaths and 38 missing.

Mozammel said the annual economic loss from these accidents exceeds Tk 60,000 crore, and called on political parties to include road safety pledges in their election manifestos.

Vehicle analysis showed motorcycles 28.48%, trucks, pickups, vans, and lorries 22.60%, buses 14.49%, battery-run rickshaws and e-bikes 13.54%, CNG auto-rickshaws 6.63%, small commercial vehicles 8.38%, and cars, jeeps, and microbuses 5.85%.

Most accidents involved pedestrians (48.84%), head-on collisions (26%), and vehicles falling into ditches (18.63%). Geographically, 38.22% occurred on national highways, 27.13% on regional highways, and 28.83% on feeder roads.

He attributed the rise in accidents to the growing number of small vehicles and unregulated movement, which contributed to a 2.55% increase on national highways and 5.47% on regional highways.

TT/MHK