According to a research of Road Safety Foundation, a total of 5,916 students were killed in different road accidents across the country in the last five and a half years.
Of them, 50 per cent were killed in motorcycle accidents and most of the road accidents took place in regional road areas.
The foundation carried out the research on the base of reports of newspapers and own investigation.
The research showed that a total of 34,478 people were killed from June 2019 to June 2024. Of them, the students account for over 16 per cent of the total road accident deaths.
According to the research, a total of 2,641 students between five and 17 years were killed in road accidents while 2,978 students age between 18 and 25 were killed. Of those accidents, 2,783 students were killed in motorcycle accidents.
1,534 students were killed as pedestrians and 721 were killed as passengers of different vehicles. On the other hand, 497 students were as passengers of motorbikes.
Former director of accident research institute of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology Md Hadiuzzaman said that more accidents occurred when the commute of people increased on unsafe and chaotic roads.
鈥業t has been seen that students are going to schools and colleges using this road rapidly. Especially outside Dhaka, the number of using motorcycle has increased a lot in going and returning to and from schools.鈥� he said.
Saidur Rahman, executive director of Road Safety Foundation, said that no long-term sustainable plan was being implemented to establish order in road transportation.
鈥楾he initiatives, which are being taken, are very unscientific and uncoordinated. To establish order on road, a long-term integrated sustainable transportation strategy must be implemented,鈥� he added.
The study attributed several reasons to student deaths on the roads. These include defective roads and unsafe vehicles, lack of knowledge about road safety and proper training in educational institutions.
