With the Dhaka Metropolitan Police's (DMP) Traffic Division continuing to take legal action against vehicles breaking traffic laws on Dhaka roads, the number of cases and fines has been seeing a downward trend in recent years.
DMP data reveals that a staggering amount of Tk386.05 crore has been realised in fines from 4.7 million cases from 2017 to 2022. Out of this, Tk346.41 crore in fines has been successfully collected.
With the enactment of the Road Safety Act 2018, individuals involved in traffic-related cases are now facing double the penalties under the new law.
However, statistics from the past six years have shown a decrease in fines as well as the number of cases since 2020.
Traffic police officers are diligently aiming for legal measures against any vehicle found to be in violation of road regulations, regardless of its size or type.
Along with raising awareness around road discipline, the officers have also emphasized the importance of enforcing the law.
DMP Traffic Division (South) Joint Commissioner Mehdi Hasan said that traffic police take legal action against those who violate the law on the roads.
Apart from imposing fines, various activities are being conducted by DMP to make people aware of the rules. Under the new law, if one is fined for the second time, one will have to pay twice as much money.
Number of cases and fines
According to Traffic Division statistics, in 2022 traffic sergeants of eight traffic divisions of DMP registered 264,836 cases, and the amount of fines was Tk68.07 crore.
In 2021, there were 255,911 cases filed and the amount of the fines imposed was Tk6.11 crore. Similarly, some 133,578 cases were registered in 2020. The amount of the fines imposed was Tk30.36 crore.
In 2019, fines of Tk83.23 crore were imposed in 1,740,448 cases while the amount was Tk86.9 crore in 1,225,546 cases in 2018 and Tk58.67 crore involving 1,133,883 cases the previous year.
According to the traffic police, although there were 264,836 cases filed in 2022, only 242,452 cases resulted in fines, amounting to a total of Tk58.93 crore fines collected.
The remaining cases did not result in the collection of fines. Hence their vehicles have not faced legal consequences for the offences they had committed.
Ongoing cases
The Traffic Division of DMP said there are still 227,638 ongoing cases against various vehicles. Vehicle owners have not yet paid a total of Tk40.12 crore in fines.
Information regarding all the vehicles with pending cases is available in the respective Traffic Divisions. Action is taken against them at different times.
Additional Commissioner of DMP Traffic Division Munibur Rahman said that there is a fixed date for settling cases against vehicles.
After the due date, warrants are issued against them through the court. Later, steps are taken according to the directions given by the court regarding those cases.