At least 7,364 students were killed in road crashes across Bangladesh between 2019 and June 2026, accounting for 15.11 percent of all road fatalities during the period, according to a report released by the Road Safety Foundation (RSF) on Tuesday.
The report shows that 48,713 people died in road crashes nationwide over the same period.
Among the student victims, 3,328 (45.19 percent) were school and madrasa students aged between five and 17, while 4,036 (54.81 percent) were college and university students aged 18 to 25.
The report said younger children were particularly vulnerable as pedestrians, while motorcycle crashes emerged as the leading cause of death among teenagers and young adults.
Motorcycles account for over half of student deaths
Motorcycle riders and pillion passengers accounted for 3,841 student deaths, or 52.15 percent of the total.
Another 519 students (7.04 percent) were killed while riding bicycles or travelling by rickshaw, while 154 (2.09 percent) died after scarves or clothing became entangled in the wheels of auto-rickshaws.
Regional roads recorded the highest number of student fatalities, with 2,149 deaths, representing 29.18 percent of the total.
The report said children aged between five and 12 were most often killed while walking to or from school or playing near their homes after being hit by auto-rickshaws, motorcycles or goods vehicles. Such incidents were more common on rural roads.
Student deaths peaked in 2022
The annual death toll rose sharply over the years.
A total of 693 students were killed in 2019, followed by 719 in 2020 and 936 in 2021. The figure peaked at 1,385 in 2022 before declining to 1,153 in 2023, 1,073 in 2024 and 1,014 in 2025.
During the first six months of 2026 alone, another 391 students lost their lives in road crashes.
The report also found that 1,237 students died after being struck by trains while crossing railway tracks carelessly or walking along railway lines while wearing headphones during the same period.
Major causes
RSF identified poor road conditions, unsafe vehicles, weak enforcement of traffic laws, inadequate road safety education, limited public awareness, reckless motorcycle riding by young people and weak governance in the transport sector as the main causes behind the high number of student deaths.
Recommendations
The organisation recommended introducing annual road safety campaigns in educational institutions, government-supported teacher training, road safety questions in school examinations, sustained awareness campaigns through mainstream and social media, removal of unsafe vehicles from roads, improved safety around schools and colleges, and stricter enforcement against underage motorcycle riding alongside greater parental awareness.
Eight years after the Safe Roads Movement
The report recalled the nationwide Safe Roads Movement that followed the deaths of two students of Shaheed Ramiz Uddin Cantonment College in a bus crash on Dhaka's Airport Road on July 29, 2018.
It said that despite eight years having passed, Bangladesh has failed to establish lasting discipline in the road transport sector or significantly reduce road crashes.
According to RSF, the absence of a long-term and coordinated road safety strategy, weak implementation of the Road Transport Act and the influence of vested interests have continued to hinder meaningful reforms. It added that although committees are often formed and recommendations prepared, implementation remains inadequate.
