Road Safety Day: Stronger enforcement of traffic laws renewed

National Road Safety Day is being observed on Thursday, with renewed calls for stronger enforcement of traffic laws, safer road infrastructure and better coordination among relevant agencies to prevent crashes and reduce road fatalities.

This year’s theme is “Safe Roads, Prosperous Country — Bangladesh First,” highlighting the importance of road safety in protecting lives and sustaining national development.

Road crashes continue to claim thousands of lives in Bangladesh every year, leaving many others injured. Excessive speed, reckless driving, unskilled drivers, defective vehicles and inadequate road safety measures are among the major factors contributing to accidents.

Against this backdrop, the government has drafted the proposed Road Safety Act 2026, which seeks to strengthen road safety measures and improve post-crash emergency response.

The draft, prepared by the Road Transport and Highways Division, proposes free emergency medical treatment for road crash victims, legal protection for people who assist accident victims, and a demerit-point system for traffic violations. It also proposes doubling fines for repeat offenders.

The proposed legislation aims to prevent road crashes, protect vulnerable road users, improve vehicle and road infrastructure standards, and ensure prompt medical care for injured victims.

On October 14, Road Transport and Bridges, Railways, and Shipping Minister Sheikh Robiul Alam said the government was committed to enacting a comprehensive road safety law by 2027.

Bangladesh had earlier pledged to introduce an integrated law by 2027, in line with the global “Safe System Approach,” at an international ministerial conference on road safety held in Marrakech, Morocco, in February 2025.

Marking the day, Elias Kanchan, founder and chairman of the road safety campaign group Nirapad Sarak Chai, urged people to obey traffic rules, drive responsibly and work collectively to establish safer roads. He made the appeal in a statement sent from London.

Meanwhile, significant discrepancies persist between official and international estimates of road fatalities in Bangladesh, raising questions about the accuracy of crash data.

According to the World Health Organization, approximately 31,578 people die in road crashes in Bangladesh each year. In contrast, data from the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority show that 5,490 people were killed in road accidents in 2025.

The wide gap between the figures underscores the need for reliable data collection and reporting to establish the true scale of the country’s road safety crisis.

As Bangladesh marks National Road Safety Day, the key challenge remains translating policy commitments into effective action through stronger law enforcement, safer infrastructure, responsible driving and greater public awareness to reduce crashes and prevent avoidable deaths.