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Enact comprehensive road safety law without delay, urge stakeholders
Published : Sunday, 15 November, 2026 at 6:50 PM
Senior Correspondent
Members of Parliament, policymakers and road safety experts have called for the swift enactment of a comprehensive road safety law to prevent road crashes and reduce deaths and serious injuries in Bangladesh.
They stressed the need for coordinated action to ensure safer road infrastructure, regulated speed limits, roadworthy vehicles, responsible road use and prompt emergency medical services for crash victims.
The call came at a discussion meeting marking the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims at the CIRDAP International Conference Centre in Dhaka on Sunday. The Bangladesh Red Crescent Society and the National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh jointly organised the event.
Speakers said road crashes are not merely a transport sector concern but also a major public health, economic and development challenge. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 1.19 million people die in road crashes globally every year, with 92 per cent of fatalities occurring in low- and middle-income countries.
Presenting the keynote paper, Mohammad Wali Noman, Road Safety Project Manager at the National Heart Foundation, said road traffic deaths in Bangladesh increased by 23 per cent between 2010 and 2021, while deaths in the WHO European Region declined by 36 per cent.
Citing Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) data, he said road crash fatalities stood at 5,305 in 2023, 5,480 in 2024 and 5,489 in 2025.
He identified five essential components of road safety: safe roads and infrastructure, safe vehicles, safe speeds, safe road users and effective post-crash response.
Referring to a 2024 study, Noman said road crash victims occupy an average of 16.2 per cent of hospital beds in Bangladesh and stay in hospital for around 16 days. Each patient incurs an average out-of-pocket expenditure of Tk 31,683, excluding government spending.
Professor Dr Sohel Reza Choudhury of the National Heart Foundation Hospital and Research Institute said most road crash deaths and serious injuries were preventable, stressing that prevention deserved as much attention as treatment.
Bangladesh Red Crescent Society Secretary General Mohammad Habibur Rahman Khan recalled the deaths of three trained youth volunteers in an ambulance-bus collision in Faridpur on October 23. He called for proper investigations, accountability and stronger emergency response services.
Chief guest Advocate Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas, MP for Pabna-5 and chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Labour and Employment, said the government was committed to introducing a comprehensive road safety law.
He said the proposed legislation would ensure timely rescue and treatment of victims while providing legal protection to people assisting crash victims. He also stressed training, healthcare and social protection for transport workers.
The meeting was chaired by National Heart Foundation President Professor Khondker Abdul Awal Rizvi. Other speakers included BRTA Director (Road Safety) Mohammad Ziaur Rahman and BRAC Road Safety Programme Manager Khalid Mahmud.
Speakers said Bangladesh must adopt the Safe System Approach and strengthen accountability and emergency services to help achieve the UN target of reducing road deaths and injuries by 50 per cent by 2030.
- MKL/ MaT
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Published by the Editor on behalf of the Observer Ltd. from Globe Printers, 24/A, New Eskaton Road, Ramna, Dhaka.
Editorial, News and Commercial Offices : Aziz Bhaban (2nd floor), 93, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka-1000.
Phone: PABX- 41053001-06; Advertisement: 41053012; 01793317829, 01550707291, 01550707296
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