Enact new law, ensure road safety: Experts 

Referring to several limitations in the existing Road Transport Act-2018, road safety stakeholders have called for the formulation of a new law to ensure safety on the roads.

The issues were raised at a press conference organised by the Road Safety Coalition Bangladesh (RSCB) and the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB) in Dhaka today (17 October).

While presenting a keynote paper, Dr Salim Mahmud Chowdhury of CIPRB emphasised the need for a new road safety law, incorporating points from the UN-declared Decade of Action for Road Safety, especially the Safe System Approach. 

He explained that such a law would help safeguard the lives of road users and reduce the rate of death and disability caused by road accidents. Additionally, reducing road accidents would contribute to economic development, poverty alleviation, and environmental improvement.

Referring to the limitations of Bangladesh's Road Transport Act, Dr Chowdhury said, "The current law primarily focuses on the transportation system but does not adequately address behavioural risks of common road users, such as reckless speeding, failure to use helmets, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and not using seat belts or child restraints." 

He also noted that the law lacks emphasis on key issues highlighted in the UN's Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, such as multimodal transport systems, land use planning, safe road infrastructure, safe vehicles, safe road users, and post-accident response and management.

Furthermore, Dr Chowdhury stressed that ensuring road safety is not the responsibility of a single ministry or department. It requires active participation from various ministries and government departments, with a designated lead agency to spearhead road safety initiatives. However, the current legal framework does not address the need for such a lead agency.

At the press conference, Ilias Kanchan, chairman of Nirapad Sarak Chai (We Demand Safe Roads), said, "It's not enough to just create laws; they must also be implemented. We demand the formulation of a new road safety law in line with the model provided by the United Nations for overall road safety."

Road accidents claimed 498 lives in Sept

Also, the Jatri Kalyan Samity released a report on road accidents in September. According to the report, 493 road accidents occurred in Bangladesh, resulting in 498 deaths and 978 injuries. 

The report revealed that motorcycle accidents accounted for 195 deaths and 149 injuries, representing 38.94% of total accidents, 39.15% of fatalities, and 15.23% of injuries. 

Chattogram division recorded the highest number of road accidents in September, with 116 accidents causing 109 deaths and 251 injuries, while Barishal division reported the lowest, with 26 accidents resulting in 23 deaths and 48 injuries.

Among the 792 vehicles involved in accidents, motorcycles comprised 27.52%, trucks and pickups 21.71%, and buses 13.25%. 

Additionally, 40 railway accidents claimed 37 lives, while 14 accidents on waterways left 19 people dead, 56 injured, and 47 missing.

The Jatri Kalyan Samity attributed the primary causes of road accidents to a lack of traffic police presence, absence of road signs and street lighting, insufficient training for new drivers, vehicle defects, violation of traffic laws, driving against traffic flow, and the presence of inexperienced drivers and unfit vehicles