1,008 children killed in road accidents in 2025: Road Safety Foundation
The report recommended making roads safer for children, raising road safety awareness at home and in schools, taking strict action against unskilled and underage drivers, improving treatment facilities at district hospitals, creating a special government fund for the injured, and strictly enforcing the Road Transport Act 2018.
At least 1,008 children aged between one month and 17 years were killed in road accidents across the country in 2025, according to a report by the Road Safety Foundation.
In the report, which was sent to the media today (10 January), the organisation's executive director, Saidur Rahman, said long-standing mismanagement in the road and transport sector and a lack of awareness about traffic laws have resulted in children becoming victims of road accidents at an alarming rate.
According to the report, 537 children – or 53.27% of the total fatalities – were killed while travelling as passengers or working as drivers or helpers of vehicles.
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Meanwhile, 471 children, accounting for 46.72%, were killed as pedestrians after being hit or run over by vehicles.
An analysis based on road type showed that 281 children (27.87%) were killed on highways, 364 (36.11%) on regional roads, 291 (28.86%) on rural roads, and 72 (7.14%) on city roads.
In terms of timing, 27 accidents (2.67%) occurred at dawn, 269 (26.68%) in the morning, 283 (28.07%) at noon, 261 (25.89%) in the afternoon, 92 (9.12%) in the evening, and 76 (7.53%) at night.
Age-wise data showed that 179 children aged between one month and five years (17.75%), 382 aged six to 12 years (37.89%), and 447 aged 13 to 17 years (44.34%) lost their lives in road accidents last year.
The report said most child fatalities occurred while travelling to and from educational institutions or while playing on roads near their homes.
The rate of child casualties as pedestrians was particularly high on rural roads due to a lack of vehicle control and monitoring, as many such roads run close to residential areas.
The foundation described the deaths and disabilities caused by this mismanagement as an irreparable loss to the nation.
The report made several recommendations to reduce child deaths in road accidents, including making roads and transport systems safer for children, increasing awareness about road safety at home and in educational institutions, taking strict action against unskilled and underage drivers, improving treatment facilities for accident victims at district-level hospitals, creating a special government fund for treatment of the injured, and strictly enforcing the Road Transport Act 2018.
The statistics were compiled based on information from nine national dailies, seven online news portals, electronic media, and the organisation's own data.
