9 Recommendations from Youth to Reduce Road Crashes During Eid Journey

Press Release: Dhaka, March 18, 2025:

During major festival holidays like Eid, the number of casualties from road crashes in Bangladesh increases. But why can’t road crashes be stopped? The reason is the lack of an appropriate law to prevent road crashes and ensure everyone’s safety on the roads. Therefore, enacting a road safety law and ensuring its proper enforcement is very necessary.

On Tuesday (March 18) afternoon, Marzana Muntaha, the coordinator of the Ahsania Mission Youth Forum for Health and Well-being, highlighted this issue during a press briefing on youth recommendations to reduce road crashes during Eid journey. The event was held at the Dhaka Ahsania Mission Health Sector conference room in Shyamoli, Dhaka. She also presented 9 key recommendations from youth to minimize road crashes during Eid journeys and beyond.

The recommendations are: 1. Most road crashes occur due to excessive speed. Therefore, considering the condition of roads and vehicles in the country, a safe speed limit should be determined, and a speed management guideline should be developed and implemented as soon as possible. Additionally, all drivers must be strictly required to follow speed limit directives, especially during Eid journey, 2. Both motorcycle riders and passengers must wear standard-quality helmets while traveling during Eid. An enforcement guideline regarding this should be developed and implemented without delay, 3. Unfit vehicles must be strictly prohibited from operating on roads, 4. The working hours of drivers must be regulated to ensure they get adequate rest during Eid journeys. Fatigued drivers not only endanger themselves but also create high-risk situations for passengers, 5.Vehicles such as Nasimon, Karimon, tempo, battery-operated rickshaws, and locally modified transports like Votvoti should be restricted from operating on major roads and highways during Eid travel to prevent accidents, 6. Strict surveillance must be ensured to prevent drivers from consuming alcohol or any intoxicating substances while driving, and related laws must be strictly enforced, 7.All passengers, including drivers, must be required to wear seatbelts while traveling, and a guideline on this should be developed and implemented as soon as possible, 8. Proper measures should be taken to ensure the safe movement of pedestrians, including: hawkers free footpaths, Making foot over bridges more pedestrian-friendly, Encouraging pedestrians to use foot over bridges and footpaths, Raising awareness about safe road-crossing habits, such as avoiding mobile phone use while crossing and using zebra crossings properly, 9. Above all, an integrated road safety law should be formulated and implemented following the internationally recognized Safe System Approach to ensure long-term road safety in Bangladesh.

According to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), during the 17 days before and after the last Eid-ul-Fitr, there were 286 road accidents across the country, resulting in 320 deaths and 462 injuries. Therefore, with the aim of reducing the number of road crashes in the country, including during Eid journeys, representatives from the Youth Forum—Marzana Muntaha and A.F.M. Sadman Sakib, Zakia Maisha and Nishat Tarannum from the Bangladesh Medical Student Society, Ishtiaq Imon from the Bangladesh Debate Federation, Ahsan Ronny from Mission Green Bangladesh, along with more than fifty young students from various colleges and universities—were present and urged the government to implement the proposed recommendations.

Notably, on February 19, at the 4th Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety held in Marrakesh, Morocco, Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan, Advisor for Housing & Public Works and Industry, pledged to formulate a road safety law in Bangladesh by 2027, following the Safe System Approach.