Awami League General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader has expressed hope that implementation of the Road Safety Act 2018, which comes into effect from Sunday, will ensure discipline on the roads .
“The new Road Safety Act may seem like a law with exorbitant fines but it is not about the money. Discipline will be ensured on the roads due to large fines but it was necessary to create awareness,” Quader said on Sunday.
He made the statement while speaking at a discussion titled "Road Safety and Road Safety Act 2018" arranged by the American International University of Bangladesh (AIUB) in Basundhara Residential Area, Dhaka.
The minister also noted how certain bus operators are cheating the public in the name of sitting service buses.
He said: “Some bus services claim to provide sitting service but these are not sitting services -- these are cheating services.”
Quader added that the new law will be implemented from today saying: “We relaxed the (implementation of the) law for a few days to create awareness. We gave two weeks' time which has ended. The new law will be enacted from today (Sunday).”
The Awami League general secretary claimed that there is no lack of development on the roads but still there is a lack of discipline.
He said: “We are implementing the law to bring discipline on the roads. Whenever there is a problem on the road, people tend to take over.”
He alleged that motorcycles are the usually the instigators of indiscipline on roads saying that motorcycle riders consider themselves as "kings" and that, "it is a nuisance."
Furthermore, the minister also criticized political leaders and activists for not wearing helmets during riding motorcycles.
During the course of the discussion, he mentioned that the much-awaited Padma Bridge will be opened in 2021.
Earlier, the government enforced the Road Safety Act-2018 from November 1.
