Dhaka: In a major push to curb rising road fatalities, the government has taken initiatives to strengthen road safety management in the country by uniting four key agencies under a coordinated platform. The initiatives are being implemented under the World Bank-funded five-year Bangladesh Road Safety Project (BRSP).
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, launched in May 2023 with an outlay of US$208 million, the project aims to reduce road crashes, improve post-crash care, and modernize traffic enforcement. Officials hope it will not only save thousands of lives annually but also reduce the heavy burden on healthcare and boost economic resilience. Transport economists estimate road crashes cost Bangladesh about 3 percent of GDP each year. According to BRTA, 5,856 crashes killed 5,840 people in 2024, up from 5,024 deaths in 2023. In just the first half of 2025, at least 2,943 road fatalities have already been recorded. Bangladesh has pledged to cut down road fatalities by 50 percent by 2030 in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“This is the first time in our country that the Roads and Highways Department (RHD), BRTA, Bangladesh Police, and the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) are working together under one umbrella to reduce highway accidents and strengthen post-crash response,” Project Director Mohammad Shabbir Hasan Khan told BSS. “Our ultimate goal is not only to reduce crashes but also to create a Safe System Approach – safe road users, safe vehicles, safe speeds, safe roads, and post-crash care – where prevention, enforcement, and response work in harmony,” said Hasan, who is also the additional chief engineer at the RHD.
Nearly 70 percent of the project cost is allocated to RHD-led works. Unlike typical infrastructure projects, no new highways will be built under the project. Instead, the focus is on targeted safety interventions to existing roads. Two pilot corridors have been identified: Joydevpur-Elenga stretch of N4 (70km) and Natore-Rajshahi stretch of N6 (70km). Additionally, 500 km of high-risk road segments across Dhaka, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Khulna, and Mymensingh have been prioritized using an International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) survey of 5,000 km.
The BRTA will address human error, a leading cause of road crashes, through large-scale driver training. Under the project, 40,000 new professional drivers will receive four-month training, while 20,000 existing drivers will undergo five-day refresher sessions in partnership with BRTC. BRTA will also modernize service delivery by digitally integrating licensing, registration, fitness checks, and fee payments.
The Bangladesh Police will pioneer IT-based traffic enforcement. An Integrated Traffic Management and Incident Detection System (ITMIDS) will be introduced along N4 and N6 pilot corridors. High-tech cameras will detect speeding, lane violations, and accidents in real time. A National Crash Database will also be created under police management, accessible to all stakeholders.
The DGHS will focus on post-crash emergency care. To bridge the gap in emergency response, 60 Basic Life Support ambulances will be deployed along the pilot corridors, managed through a call center-based fleet system. Additionally, bystanders and shopkeepers will be trained in first aid to act as first responders.
“Already, tenders for four civil works packages are under evaluation. We hope to award at least two by December 2025 and the others by early 2026,” Hasan said. Furthermore, the government has taken a move to formulate a new law named ‘Road Safety Act’ to mitigate road risks, covering all the measures focused on the globally recommended Safe System Approach.