ZCZC
BSS-16
CABINET-ROAD TRANSPORT-ACT LEAD
Cabinet Okays revised road transport law with tougher punishment
DHAKA, Aug 6, 2018 (BSS) – The Cabinet today approved a revised road
transport law suggesting five years of imprisonment alongside penalties for
rough driving leading to deaths and grievous injuries while the term was
three years under the existing law.
“The cabinet today approved the Road Transport Act 2018 with provisions of
highest five years of imprisonment for reckless driving while the term was
three years so far,” cabinet secretary Md. Shafiul Alam told a media briefing
emerging from the meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
The approval came in the weekly cabinet meeting at Bangladesh Secretariat
as Road Transport and Highways Division placed the draft as a supplementary
agenda amidst recent nationwide students’ movement for safe road.
“The new law has many deviations from the existing ordinance of 1983 while
it introduced new provisions like point system in the driving license,” the
cabinet secretary said.
He said the proposed law demanded that the professional drivers must be 21
years old having educational qualification of at least eighth-grade for
getting the license while the non-professional drivers, however, could get
the license after reaching 18.
A driver would have 12 points against his or her license which would be
deducted for violating traffic rules and the license would be scrapped if
someone lost all the points.
Alam said if the driver was found to have deliberately caused a crash
causing someone’s death, he would be tried under the existing Penal Code and
face the death penalty.
The cabinet secretary said the amount of monetary punishment for reckless
driving was not specified in the draft law, which preferred to leave the
matter to trial judges.
The law proposed for giving power to the concerned authorities to suspend,
withdraw or cancel the driving license of a person in case of his/her
physical or mental illness, drug addiction, criminal offense or any other
reason.
In public interest, the law said, concerned authorities with the prior
approval of the government can ascertain the number of vehicles for the whole
country or any specific area.
The transport authority would have the authorization to ascertain the
economic life of any kind of motor vehicles and publish it through gazette
notification, the law said.
According to the law the government would announce the working hours and
leisure time for drivers, conductors, helpers and cleaners of the transport
keeping consistency with the labour law which would be mandatory for
employers to follow.
The law has some general guiding principles which prohibit drinking,
driving on wrong side, driving of motor vehicle by a conductor or helper,
talking over mobile phone and creating any nuisance by any passenger which
may cause trouble for driver. The law also made it mandatory for drivers and
passengers to fasten seatbelts during driving.
The law suggests creation of a fund under a trust to give financial
assistance or compensation to the persons injured in road accident or
dependents in case of death of a person.
The fund will be created with the grants from the government, subscription
of the motor vehicle owners, amount collected from penalties, donation from
the transport owners and labour federation and money from any other legal
sources.
The law also stipulated that in case of any accident the driver, conductor
or their representative would inform nearest police station, fire service and
hospital within the shortest possible time and take emergency steps for
treatment of the injured persons.
Bangladesh Police will introduce a toll-free telephone number to facilitate
them or any person to notify the information of accidents to various service
providing agencies, the law said.
Today’s law also approved the draft of the Agricultural Marketing Act, 2018
and a proposal for ratification of the Air Service Agreement between
Bangladesh and the UAE.
BSS/AKH/ARS/AR/1702 hrs