Road Safety And Legal Accountability In Bangladesh: A Critical Analysis Of The Regulatory Framework, Enforcement And Institutional Challenges
- IJLLR Journal
- 10 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Mosa. Sejuti Khatun, Md. Al Amin & Sanzida Ali Sharmi
ABSTRACT
Road traffic crashes are an acute issue, that touches on aspects of legality, public health, development and economics. Bangladesh continues to struggle to reduce traffic crash fatalities, injuries and overall impacts on vulnerable road users. This article reviews Bangladesh’s legal and institutional approaches to road safety, highlights recent traffic crash statistics and proposes considerations towards improving safety for all road users. Topics discussed include the Road Transport Act 2018, Road Safety Regulation Authority, law enforcement, driver’s licenses, infrastructure and road user behaviour. Recent crash statistics are analyzed and demonstrate inconsistencies with reporting. High-risk areas are typically identified at intersections, bus-stops, high-speed roads, and crashes with pedestrians and other vulnerable road users. Speeding, distracted/impaired driving, lack of driver training, vehicle safety, poor road infrastructure, traffic violations and inadequate enforcement were noted as key, and often intersecting factors of crashes. Despite having recently updated the Road Transport Act in 2018 to provide current statutory measures, it has been found that passing a road safety law does not ensure safety by itself. Weaknesses in enforcement, institutional gaps, lack of resources and poor road safety governance have been noted as underlying problems with strengthening legality around road safety. This paper calls for changes from an accident-centric and vehicle-user centred mentality to that of the Safe System approach with shared accountability between institutions. Suggestions to consider are increased enforcement, education and licensing of drivers, safer infrastructure, technology for monitoring, heightened vehicle inspections, increased collaboration between institutions, addressing vulnerable road user safety, and better post-crash care. The paper concludes that government prioritization, institutional responsibility and proper execution will help to prevent road fatalities and promote rule of law within Bangladesh’s transportation sector.
Keywords: Road safety; road traffic accidents; Bangladesh; Road Transport Act 2018; legal accountability; enforcement; vulnerable road users; Safe System.
