Call for integrated road safety law to cut road crash deaths

Members of parliament, policymakers and road safety experts have called for the speedy enactment of an integrated road safety law to reduce preventable deaths and serious injuries in road crashes. They said coordinated initiatives are needed to ensure safe road infrastructure, controlled speed limits, safe vehicles, and prompt rescue and medical care after crashes.

They made the remarks at a discussion meeting held at the CIRDAP auditorium in the capital on Sunday (15 November), on the occasion of the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. The meeting was jointly organised by the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society and the National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh.

Mohammad Wali Noman, road safety project manager of the National Heart Foundation, presented the keynote paper at the meeting. He said, according to the World Health Organization's 2023 road safety report for the South-East Asia region, the road crash death rate in Bangladesh rose by 23 per cent between 2010 and 2021. In contrast, the death rate in the European region fell by 36 per cent over the same period.

Citing data from the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), the paper said 5,305 people died in road crashes in the country in 2023, 5,480 in 2024 and 5,489 in 2025.

The paper further said an average of 16.2 per cent of total hospital beds are used for treating road crash victims. According to a 2024 study, an injured patient has to stay in hospital for an average of 16 days. During this period, an average of Tk 31,683 is spent per patient beyond government expenditure.

Professor Dr Sohel Reza Chowdhury, head of the Department of Epidemiology and Research at the National Heart Foundation Hospital and Research Institute, said a large share of deaths and serious injuries in road crashes is preventable. Along with treatment after crashes, effective measures must be taken to prevent crashes. Ensuring safe roads would reduce deaths as well as ease the pressure on health services.

Md Habibur Rahman Khan, secretary general of the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, said the deaths of three of their trained volunteers in road crashes are a major loss for humanitarian assistance work. On 23 October, Nur Mohammad Arik, Mohammad Rabbi Hossain and Tamanna Tabassum Oishi were killed in a collision between an ambulance and a bus on the Madhukhali-Kanaipur road in Faridpur. They were returning to Magura after taking part in a VBD programme when they met with the crash.

He said proper investigation of every serious crash, determination of responsibility, and prompt rescue and medical care are essential. In this regard, the Red Crescent's volunteer network can be used.

In his speech as chief guest, Advocate Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas, member of parliament for Pabna-5 and chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the Ministry of Labour and Employment, said the government has promised to enact an integrated road safety law to reduce deaths and losses in road crashes. Once the law comes into effect, it will be possible to ensure prompt rescue and emergency treatment for the injured, as well as to provide legal protection to people who come forward to help with rescue work.

He further said regular training, health and social protection for transport workers must be ensured. At the same time, people affected by road crashes must be informed about assistance from the government trust fund so that they can get the support they need in time.

Other speakers at the meeting said, according to the United Nations' second decade of action for road safety, there is a target to reduce road crash deaths and injuries by 50 per cent by 2030. To achieve this target, the safe system approach must be implemented, an integrated law enacted, accountability of the relevant organisations ensured, and post-crash rescue and medical systems strengthened.

The meeting was presided over by Professor Khandaker Abdul Awal Rizvi, president of the National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh. Md Ziaur Rahman, director (road safety) of BRTA, and other concerned persons were present.