Government presents tougher transport law in parliament

The new transport law designed to incorporate the best practices has been tabled in the parliament.

Road Transport Minister Obaidul Quader presented the law titled ‘Road Transport Act’ in the parliament on Thursday.

Deputy Speaker Md Fazle Rabbi Miah sent it to the standing committee on ministry on road transport and bridge to file a report within seven days after scrutinising it.

Earlier in the day at a event in Dhaka, Quader said Hasina had called me and the law minister and asked them to present the law in the parliament on Thursday.

“I hope the law will be passed at the end of the current session,” he added.

The law that remained stuck for long gathered pace following the recent student protests for road safety and their demands for capital punishment for drivers in fatal road accidents.

Following deaths of two students in a road crash in Dhaka on Jul 29, students began to pour out in their thousands into the streets and protested for a 10th day, which rocked the country and attracted global media attention as well.

The massive protests forced the government to promise them to meet their demands for justice and road safety measures.

Later, on Aug 6, the cabinet approved a draft of the Road Transport Act 2018 that raises the maximum sentence for deaths from road accidents from three years in prison to five and fines.

After the meeting, Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam highlighted parts of the new draft at the Secretariat.

“In cases of offences related to accidents, the draft law says that, regardless of the law, if any is grievously injured or killed in a motor transport accident, it will be considered under the penal code’s sections 302 or 304,” he said.

Which section will apply to any given case will be determined by the investigators based on evidence and testimony, he said.

“It will be based on the severity of the situation and the evident. If it is determined that they intentionally committed the act, it will be handled by the relevant section of the penal code. The investigation will determine whether it will be handled under section 302 or section 304.”

“An addendum states that, regardless of the penal code section 304 (b), if an individual causes grievous injury or death in an accident through recklessness or negligence, they will receive a maximum of five years in prison, a fine or both.”

Though the prison sentence limit was set in the law, no limit was placed on the fine, Shafiul Alam said.

“The relevant authorities will be able to determine the amount of the fine based on the situation,” he said.

According to Law Minister Anisul Huq, section 304 (b) of the penal code had initially stated it would carry a maximum sentence of seven years in prison, which was revised down to three years in prison in 1985.

The law minister said that instead of revising section 304 (b) of the penal code, the new Road Transport Act set a five-year maximum on deaths due to road accidents.

The cabinet secretary said that the new maximum sentence of five years was decided after consultation with transport owners, workers, passengers and people from all classes.

Cabinet Division Secretary NM Ziaul Alam and Road Transport Division Secretary Nazrul Islam joined the cabinet secretary during the briefing.

The road transport secretary said, “If it is proven that a person was intentionally killed due to reckless driving, it will fall under section 302, which is punishable by the death penalty.”

Neighbouring countries do not impose death penalty for fatalities in road accidents, Nazrul Islam said.

“Section 302 will only apply if it is considered a killing.”