Proposed Road Transport Act toothless
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Activists and transport leaders in discussions on the proposed "Road Transport Act-2017" on May 4 took policymakers to task for the loopholes and vagueness of the proposed Act. Discussants stated that the proposed law fails to mention road safety and allows for heavy punishment for even petty offences making the entire proposition a farce.
While the punishment proposed for those involved in reckless driving that kills people is only a slap on the wrist of the errant drivers, the imprisonment provisions proposed for running a red light make one wonder at the logic of it. There is, for instance, the ludicrous provision for three years' imprisonment and Tk 300,000 fine for just one kg of overload. Are the police going to stop every truck in the country and weigh its load before fining or imprisoning truckers?
The inconsistencies and impracticality of some of these provisions are mind-boggling to say the least. There is little information on how the government proposes to produce qualified drivers and make vehicles safer. Also, what about uniform fare rates to be followed by transport companies?
We have said before and we repeat our call that all stakeholders' concerns need to be addressed. The proposed Act certainly does not reflect that; and it remains a very big question whether some of the proposed provisos are implementable at all. We feel that if the proposed law is enacted in its present form will, among other things, be a huge blow to passengers' concerns and safety.
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