Victims of road accidents are not only left physically disabled, but their families are also plunged into severe financial crises. The cost of treatment for accident victims has become so high that many families are falling into debt, losing everything, or being forced into destitution.
The Road Transport Act 2018 directed vehicle owners to establish a separate financial assistance fund and a trustee board to provide compensation and medical support to road accident victims. However, this remains only on paper. As a result, accident victims receive no financial assistance from vehicle owners. This has led to calls for a Road Safety Act to ensure protection and compensation for passengers and pedestrians affected by accidents.
Take the case of Zahidul Islam (42), a resident of Aftabnagar in Dhaka. In July, he was severely injured in a motorcycle accident in Hatirjheel, breaking one leg. After a month-long stay at the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR), he was discharged. Surgeons inserted rods and screws in his broken bones, and he has been told another operation will be required within a month. Being treated at a government hospital somewhat reduced costs, but Zahidul has already spent Tk 70,000–80,000.
“If I had undergone this surgery at a private hospital, it would have cost Tk 400,000–500,000,” Zahidul said. “Government hospitals take more time, but costs are lower.”
Zahidul, who worked as a food delivery man, has now lost his livelihood. His family was forced to leave their Aftabnagar home and shift to a cheaper sublet in Banasree.
This is not an isolated case. A visit to NITOR reveals countless similar stories. Some patients have lost both legs, others one leg, and many have lost hands. Some lie in hospital beds with metal rods piercing their bodies. Road accidents have turned many lives upside down.
Families where the sole breadwinner becomes disabled face despair about their future. Many cannot afford months of medicine and treatment, forcing them into unbearable hardship. The emergency ward at NITOR is filled with the cries of patients, with no end to the suffering of victims and their relatives.
Sharmin Begum, whose husband was recently discharged in a wheelchair, said: “Doctors say he needs long-term physiotherapy. We spend Tk 2,000–3,000 daily. Our savings are gone, I sold my gold jewelry, and now we are borrowing from relatives.” Asked about compensation, she replied, “We never heard of any compensation. But there should be. If there was a Road Safety Act, we could have claimed it.”
According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), the average treatment cost for a seriously injured road accident victim ranges from Tk 500,000 to 1,000,000. Emergency surgery, ICU care, medicines, and long-term therapy together make it nearly impossible for lower- and middle-income families to bear the expenses.
The Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity (Passenger Welfare Association) states that every year 20,000–25,000 people die in road accidents, and at least 35,000 are injured. Most of them are of working age. With many left permanently disabled, families are being trapped in long-term poverty.
Legal complications and lack of compensation
Although the Road Transport Act 2018 includes provisions for victim compensation, in practice families receive nothing. Legal cases are complex and lengthy, forcing most families to bear treatment expenses themselves without going to court.
For instance, bus driver Saheb Ali from Mirpur’s Uttor Bishil area became disabled after an accident. “I didn’t receive a single taka from the bus owner,” he said. “I even went to the owners’ association, but got no help. Now I run a small tea stall to survive.”
Experts’ opinions
Economists emphasize the need for a national rehabilitation fund for accident victims. Dr. Selina Haque, Professor of Economics at Dhaka University, said: “Every day so many people are injured in accidents. Without health insurance or government support, their families collapse. This is also harming the national economy.”
Road accidents not only cause deaths but also leave survivors struggling with lifelong medical expenses, pushing thousands of families into destitution. Hence, there is growing demand for guaranteed compensation, a government rehabilitation fund, and subsidies in healthcare.
Formation of the financial fund
Sections 52 and 53 of the Road Transport Act 2018 mandated the creation of a financial assistance fund and a board of trustees to manage it. In 2021, the Ministry of Finance formed a board to launch the fund for victim compensation and treatment. In 2022, regulations were drafted and sent to the Road Transport and Highways Division for approval. But nothing has progressed since, and the file remains shelved. Critics argue that the Act currently protects transport owners rather than passengers and pedestrians, highlighting the urgent need for a proper Road Safety Act.
In this regard, Liton Ershad, Vice Chairman of “Nirapad Sarak Chai” (We Demand Safe Roads), said: “The Road Safety Act must make passenger insurance mandatory. Registration of buses, trucks, microbuses, private cars, and other vehicles should require passenger insurance. In addition, a committee should be formed under BRTA in each district in coordination with Road Safety Councils to determine treatment costs for injured victims. These expenses would then be paid from the trust fund.”
