Bangladesh to allow motorcyclists to use highways during Eid

Bangladesh placed an embargo on motorcycle movement on highways during holiday times after 139 people were killed and 199 injured in 144 motorcycle accidents during the last Eid-ul-Fitr

Bangladesh will allow motorcycles to run on highways during the upcoming Eid, according to Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Qauder.

However, the motorcyclists will have to keep to a separate lane on the highways and will not be allowed to use the Padma Bridge, Quader said at a preparatory meeting at the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority in Dhaka office on Sunday.

The government banned the movement of motorcycles on the highways during the Eid-ul-Azha holidays last year in July following the revelation of data that indicated almost half of the highway accidents that took place during the previous Eid-ul-Fitr holidays involved motorcycles.

“We have developed a separate lane for motorcyclists on the highways. As long as they keep to the separate lane, there will be no issue. They can’t use the Padma Bridge, though,” Quader said.

The Bridges Division banned the movement of motorised two-wheelers on the Padma Bridge 24 hours after the official opening following the death of two riders on the bridge.

The news of allowing motorcycles again on the highways may disappoint road safety activists in Bangladesh, who have long been advocating for a permanent ban.

At least 139 people were killed and 199 injured in 144 motorcycle accidents during the last Eid-ul-Fitr, 45.28 percent of all road accidents and 43.03 percent of the total number of deaths, according to the Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity.

A total of 418 people were killed in 362 road accidents during the last Eid, according to the organisation. The data created an outcry, prompting the government to issue a blanket embargo on motorcycles running on the highways during the Eid-ul-Azha holidays.

The move yielded immediate results, as only 15 people were killed in road accidents, including one involving motorcycles, from Jul 9 to Jul 12, according to Bangladesh Road Safety Foundation.

Quader, also the general secretary of the ruling Awami League, conceded that despite “revolutionary” development in the sector, it still lacks systematic discipline.

The minister assured that the two major highways -- one to Chattogram and the other to Sylhet -- will not be clogged by severe gridlock.

However, the minister admitted that he does not have that same level of confidence on the highways in Gazipur, which practically connects the whole northern region, due to the ongoing bus rapid transit project.

Ordering the road authorities to do their best to keep the Gazipur highways usable, Quader said: “You have to keep the highways in Gazipur passable. Otherwise, traffic will come to a halt.”