5,619 students killed in road accidents in nearly 6 years

At least 5,619 students have been killed in road accidents over the past five and a half years, from 2019 to June 2024, according to a report by the Road Safety Foundation (RSF).

Students alone accounted for 16.29% of all road accident fatalities during this period, with the total number of deaths being 34,478, RSF said during a press conference titled “Student Fatalities in Road Accidents: Statistics and Analysis” at its Dhaka office today (13 July), marking the Mirsarai tragedy.

Mirsarai Tragedy Day is observed locally in remembrance of the 45 who died, including 42 students, when a pickup truck carrying them overturned into a pond beside the road in Chattogram’s Mirsarai on 11 July 2011. The students were returning from the Bangabandhu-Bangamata Gold Cup football tournament at Mirsarai Stadium.

The report noted that some 2,641 victims – aged between 5 and 17 – were from schools and madrasas, accounting for 47% of the total. 

Meanwhile, 2,978 victims – aged between 18 and 25 – from colleges and universities, making up 53%, the organisation said after analysing incidents of student fatalities in road accidents. 

The report further stated that around 833 students lost their lives over the past five and a half years due to carelessly crossing railway tracks and walking along rail lines while wearing headphones.

“Numerous major accidents have taken place since the tragic incident in Mirsarai. However, no long-term sustainable plan has been implemented to establish discipline in the road transport sector. The initiatives being taken are largely unscientific and uncoordinated,” said Dr AI Mahbub Uddin Ahmed, RSF chairman and professor at the Department of Sociology at Dhaka University.  

“To establish order in the chaotic road transport sector, a long-term, integrated sustainable transport strategy must be implemented,” he added. 

During the press conference, the organisation identified several reasons for student fatalities in road accidents, including faulty roads and unsafe vehicles, a lack of knowledge about safe road usage, and a tendency among students to ride motorcycles recklessly.

To prevent such accidents, the Road Safety Foundation made several recommendations, including not allowing underage individuals to ride motorcycles, strict enforcement of laws, organising road safety campaigns in educational institutions, government initiatives to train teachers on road safety, introducing road safety topics in exams, banning unsafe vehicles, ensuring safety measures on roads near educational institutions, and creating awareness.

The foundation has called for the national observance of “Mirsarai Tragedy Day.” 

They believe recognising the day on a national level will create awareness about road safety among students through celebrations at educational institutions as well as honour and express sympathy to the families of the deceased students.