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Published : 25 Sep 2025, 12:16 AM
A survey has found that 44 percent of vehicles in Chattogram city are not following the speed limit, with motorcycles making up 70 percent of the violators.
The findings were presented on Wednesday at a hotel in the city’s GEC intersection under the title “Road Safety Risk Factors in Chittagong: Status Summary Report 2024”.
The survey was conducted jointly by the Johns Hopkins International Injury Research Unit (JH-IIRU) and the Centre for Injury Prevention Research Bangladesh (CIPRB), under the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS).
According to the report, more than 453,000 vehicles were observed across six phases between December 2022 and November 2024.
Presenting the findings, JH-IIRU researcher Shirin Wadhwaniya said: “According to the Chattogram City Road Safety Report 2021-23, 92 percent of road fatalities in the city involved vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians, motorcyclists and three-wheeler passengers.
“Between December 2022 and November 2024, global standards of vehicle speed monitoring showed that 34 percent of vehicles in city roads exceeded speed limits. On local and collector roads, 45 percent breached speed restrictions. Based on BRTA’s 2024 speed limit guidelines, 44 percent of all vehicles across all road types in Chattogram operated above the prescribed speed,” she added.
CIPRB Director Salim Mahmud Chowdhury said: “The Bangladesh road transport authority issued the speed limit guidelines in May 2024, setting a maximum of 80 kmph for highways and expressways.
He added that local authorities were empowered to enforce speed limits based on road type and vehicle class.
According to Shirin, 42 percent of vehicles exceeded speed limits on weekdays, jumping to 47 percent during holidays.
To curb accidents, she recommended stricter speed control via regulators, clear signage, and lane allocations based on vehicle type.
She urged Chattogram Metropolitan Police to take initiative, and stressed the need for safer, pedestrian‑friendly road designs.
Speaking at the event, Chattogram City Corporation’s Chief Engineer Anisur Rahman said: “Compared with the size of the city, Chattogram does not have the required amount of road network. In addition, for practical reasons, it is not possible for us to follow all standards fully in road construction.”
