The Passengers Welfare Association has demanded Tk10 lakh for the families of those who died in road accidents and Tk5 lakh for the families of those who ended up injured. 

A financial loss of Tk24.62 lakh occurs due to the death of a working person, Mozammel Haque Chowdhury, secretary-general of the organisation, said on Saturday (21 October), citing a 2017 report by the Department of Roads and Highways. 

"The nation's economy suffers a financial loss of Tk1,970 crore due to the deaths on roads alone. Families of the deceased road accident victims are entitled to receive compensation from the state," he said at a press conference on the occasion of National Road Safety Day in the capital. 

That figure did not take into account other factors, including financial pressure on others in the victim's family and workplace damage. 

A study by Buet's ARI estimates the amount of such losses in road accidents in the last three years is about Tk1,09,000 crore, Mozammel also said.  

ARI analysed the police database and said 54% of the people killed in road and highway accidents in the country in the last decade are aged between 16 to 40. Of those killed, 18.5% are children under the age of 15. 

According to the Passenger Welfare Association, 51% of those killed were the sole earners in their families.

Mozammel Chowdhury said implementing the rule of law in this sector will be possible if the cases of road accidents are registered with great importance, investigations are conducted and completed under special supervision at the earliest and trials are completed quickly. 

"If CCTV cameras are installed on roads all over the country, it will be easier to identify the vehicles and the accused involved in the road accidents," he added.

If every traffic violation is taken into account, the tendency of people breaking the law will also be reduced, Mozammel said.