Eight years after the student-led Road Safety Movement forced sweeping promises of reform and reshaped Bangladesh’s political landscape, the country’s roads have become deadlier than ever, with annual fatalities reaching record highs and many of the movement’s core demands still unfulfilled.
The movement, triggered by the deaths of two Shaheed Ramiz Uddin Cantonment College students on July 29, 2018, compelled the then government to enact the Road Transport Act, promise stricter enforcement and establish a national taskforce on road safety.
On that day, students of Shaheed Ramiz Uddin Cantonment College were waiting to return home after classes on Airport Road in front of Kurmitola General Hospital.
At the time, two buses operated by Jabal-e-Noor Paribahan were racing each other on the Abdullahpur–Mohammadpur route. The reckless competition ended in tragedy when the buses ploughed into waiting students.
Two students were killed Rajib, a Class XII student, and Dia Khanam Mim, a Class XI student while at least 10 others were injured.
The incident triggered immediate protests by students, who blocked roads and demanded accountability. Within days, demonstrations spread across the country, with thousands of school and college students taking to the streets demanding safer roads and stricter enforcement of traffic laws.
Their nine-point demand included removing unfit vehicles from roads, preventing unlicensed drivers from operating vehicles, constructing pedestrian overpasses where needed, installing speed breakers in accident-prone areas, ensuring half-fare facilities for students, holding the government accountable for student deaths in road crashes, and introducing stricter punishments for reckless driving.
Sherrif Faruqi, who joined the 2018 Road Safety Movement, the fight for safer roads has become painfully personal. Recently, his elder brother was killed after a speeding truck ran over his motorcycle from behind in Mirsharai, Chittagong, while he was returning home after Friday prayers. The tragedy also revived memories of the 2011 Mirsharai truck crash, in which Faruqi lost several classmates.
“Most vehicles do not maintain a safe distance, and speed limits are rarely enforced. You may see a speed limit of 60km/h on the road, but there is little effective monitoring. Many unfit vehicles and even unfit or drug-impaired drivers continue to operate freely. Thousands of families lose loved ones every year, he said.
Faruqi also said, This is a direct consequence of the government’s negligence and failure to enforce road safety laws.
Official statistics show that road safety has deteriorated despite the movement.
According to Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) data, 2,635 people died in road crashes in 2018. The figure has since more than doubled.
Road fatalities stood at 4,138 in 2019, 3,918 in 2020, 5,084 in 2021, 4,636 in 2022, 5,024 in 2023, 5,480 in 2024 and reached a record 5,490 in 2025, according to BRTA.
Police Headquarters’ FIR-based data paints an even grimmer picture. It shows road deaths rising from 1,597 in 1994 to more than 7,000 in recent years.
Following the 2018 movement, the then Awami League government enacted the Road Transport Act 2018 and formed a taskforce to improve road safety. However, much of the law was never effectively enforced. Later amendments reduced fines and penalties, while two non-bailable offences were made bailable. Most recommendations made by the taskforce also remained unimplemented.
Many of the school and college students who led the Road Safety Movement in 2018 had become university students by 2024. They later emerged as key organizers of the July mass uprising that ultimately led to the fall of the Awami League government.
With the formation of the interim government following the political transition, many hoped road safety reforms would finally gain momentum.
However, transport experts and movement leaders say meaningful progress has yet to materialize.
The situation on Dhaka’s streets reflects the gap between policy and reality.
A visit to Kawran Bazar in the capital revealed that most pedestrians crossing at the intersection were ignoring traffic signals. While the majority also avoided using the designated zebra crossings, choosing instead to cross through the middle of the roadway, significantly increasing the risk of accidents.
At Mirpur-10, one of the capital’s busiest intersections, there is only one footbridge. Yet many pedestrians continue crossing the road directly instead of using it.
Ironically, some of those who participated in the 2018 Road Safety Movement also admitted they no longer use the bridge.
Samiul Ahmed, a public university student who took part in the movement, said one side of the Mirpur-10 footbridge is damaged, making it unsafe.
“It is risky to use. Besides, the stairs are steep and pedestrian-unfriendly,” he said.
Another student, Nadia Tasnim, said she usually uses footbridges but crossed the road directly that day because she was in a hurry.
An elderly woman in her sixties said climbing the steep stairs is physically difficult.
“I simply cannot climb such steep stairs at this age,” she said.
A similar picture emerged at Science Lab, another key site of the 2018 movement, where many HSC examinees were seen crossing busy roads without using the footbridge.
A City College student said the bridge’s stairs are broken and excessively steep.
“It is difficult even for healthy people to climb them. That is why many avoid using it,” the student said.
Old vehicles, weak enforcement
Road safety experts argue that the problem extends far beyond pedestrian behaviour.
According to BRTA officials, more than 80,000 registered commercial vehicles, including buses and trucks, have exceeded their economic lifespan. Nearly 6 lakh vehicles lack valid fitness certificates, while many drivers continue operating without proper driving licences.
Under existing laws, these vehicles and drivers should not be on the roads. However, weak enforcement allows them to continue operating.
Road Safety Foundation recently identified 13 major causes behind road crashes, including defective vehicles, reckless speeding, overloaded transport, unskilled and unhealthy drivers, irregular working hours for drivers, poor road infrastructure, weak traffic management, inadequate law enforcement, limited institutional capacity at BRTA, poor public awareness of traffic laws and extortion within the public transport sector.
Former director of the Accident Research Institute at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet), Professor Dr Hadiuzzaman, said Bangladesh has failed to achieve the level of road safety envisioned after the 2018 movement.
“Our expectations for safer roads have not been fulfilled. Political commitment and sincere implementation are essential,” he said.
He said pedestrians remain the largest victims of urban road crashes, stressing that safer roads require disciplined traffic management, better public transport and continuous footpaths.
“We often focus only on vehicles while ignoring pedestrians,” he said.
Hadiuzzaman also questioned the overreliance on footbridges.
“Most major cities around the world do not depend on footbridges. Footbridges are not a universal solution because accidents can occur anywhere. Roads should be designed to give pedestrians priority, with vehicles stopping to allow people to cross safely.”
He welcomed the installation of AI-based traffic cameras and signal systems in parts of Dhaka but said much broader reforms are still needed.
Md Enzamul Haque, now general secretary of Nirapod Sorok Andolon and one of the organizers behind the 2018 nine-point movement, said the demands remain largely unmet.
“Eight years have passed, but we are still working to achieve the same nine demands,” he said.
“We were hopeful after the 2024 mass uprising that meaningful reforms would come. Unfortunately, nothing has changed. The previous government was captive to vested interests, and the current government also appears unable to break that cycle.”
He also questioned the emphasis on footbridges.
“If people are never taught why they should use footbridges, how can students be expected to develop that habit?” he said, adding that awareness campaigns have been almost nonexistent.
Like transport experts, he argued that footbridges are not an ideal solution for a city like Dhaka, particularly for elderly people and persons with disabilities.
Experts say restoring discipline in Bangladesh’s transport sector requires three fundamental changes: planned, people- centred infrastructure, proper training and licensing of road users, and consistent enforcement of traffic laws.
Without all three working together, they warn, legal reforms alone will not make Bangladesh’s roads safer.
Eight years after students demanded safe roads, the movement’s central promise remains largely unfulfilled.
