Under Bangladeshi law, reckless driving is a violation of traffic rule. It is usually a more serious offence than careless driving, improper driving, or driving without due care and attention and is punishable by fines, imprisonment, and driver’s licence suspension or revocation. However, experts think that punishment provided for the offence of reckless driving under Bangladeshi law is highly inadequate. While proper implementation of the existing laws is a far cry, government has decided to slacken the law of reckless driving recently.
Drivers will not have to face charges of intentional killing from now on, as the government decided to term such deaths as “accidental” killing. Whereas intentional killing can call for the highest punishment for a single death, accidental deaths which is called culpable homicide in legal terms, amount to life sentences.
Existing Law on reckless driving
Both Penal Code, 1860 and Motor Vehicles Ordinance, 1983 contain provisions relating to reckless driving and provide punishments for the offence:
