The government has so far given Taka 322.89 crore financial assistance to families of 7,877 people who were killed and injured in road accidents.
 
The assistance was given following the Road Transport Act 2018 and subsequent rules passed in 2022 and decision of the trustee board constituted under the rules.
 
With the enactment of the Road Transport Rules, 2022, the trustee board began accepting applications for financial assistance from those affected by road accidents in a prescribed form.
 
Mohammad Rafiul Islam, a Supreme Court lawyer and legal adviser to Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) told BSS that the law stipulated provision to provide specific compensation in case of death or injury resulting from a road accident.
 
When victims or their family members follow the proper application process, the trustee board provides financial assistance in line with the rules.
 
Rafiul Islam said the distribution of cheques of such financial assistance among road accident victims began on October 19, 2023.
 
According to the trustee board records, a total of Taka 322.89 crore had been disbursed among 7,877 victims till October 2026, out of which Taka 206.08 crore was given between January to October 2026.
 
Of the recipients, 1,432 injured, 684 seriously injured, and families of 5,761 persons killed in the road accidents received cheques.
 
Under the Section 149 of the Road Transport Rules, 2022, one-time payment of minimum Taka 5 lakh is given to a family as financial assistance for death.
 
A victim of a road accident, in case of loss of a vital body part, is entitled to receive minimum Taka 3 lakh while a person with bed ridden injury may also get Taka 3 lakh.
 
However, if a person is severely injured but has the possibility to return to a normal life following medical treatment, the financial assistance shall be minimum one lakh.
 
Supreme Court lawyer Mohammad Hasibur Rahman appreciated the provision for providing financial assistance to the road accident victims.
 
However, he said such assistance or compensation to road accident victims is not the ultimate solution. Authorities must take effective measures to prevent indiscriminate road accidents across the country.
 
He said traffic rules should be strictly enforced for proper management of the vehicular movement and imbuing citizen to act responsively.
 
Section 62(1) of the Road Transport Act, 2018, stipulates that after a road accident, the driver, conductor, or their representative must notify the nearest police station immediately, In addition, injured persons are required to transport to the nearest medical facility or hospital to receive necessary treatment.
 
Section 62(1) of the act also says the police shall introduce a nationwide toll-free telephone number to allow drivers, conductors, owners, operators, their representative and passengers or any eyewitnesses to the road accident to send request for emergency rescue or medical assistance.
 
Apart from the financial assistance set under the Road Transport Act, there are instances where compensation has been secured through the filing of writ petitions in the High Court.
 
A notable example is the case of Russel Sarkar, who lost a leg in a road accident. On April 28, 2018, while traveling from Keraniganj to Dhaka, Russel Sarkar, a young private car driver, lost a leg when he was struck by a 'Green Line Paribahan' bus on the Hanif Flyover in Jatrabari.
 
Following the accident Russell lodged a case with Jatrabari Police Station in the capital along with a filing writ petition to the High Court (HC) seeking compensation for his physical damage. Later, he secured a HC court order to get the compensation.
 
Talking to BSS, Russell Sarkar said following the HC order, the Green Line authorities paid Taka 30 lakh, along with an additional Taka 3.4 lakh to cover his medical expenses.
 
Mentioning that he has been fitted with an artificial leg at the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP) in Savar, Russell Sarkar expressed his profound gratitude to the High Court.
 
“It is because of the High Court’s verdict that I could receive a total of Taka 33.4 lakh. However, the loss I have suffered can never truly be compensated with money,” he said.