No cases under new traffic law till Nov 14: Quader

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader today asked the authorities concerned not to file any case under the new Road Transport Act in the next seven days as the government may formulate rules under the act by this time.  

“Hopefully by that time (till November 14), we will be able to complete formulation of the rules,” Quader, also the general secretary of Awami League, told reporters at the office of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) after a meeting.

He also expressed hope that by the end of the first two weeks since the Road Transport Act, 2018 on November 1, the authorities concerned will get on the field and enact the rules of the new stringently.

The minister was in a view-exchange meeting with officials at the BRTA office to discuss the Road Transport Act.

WHAT THE LAW SAYS

On October 22, the Road Transport and Highways Division issued a gazette, stating that the Road Transport Act (RTA) would be effective from today. Parliament had passed the RTA in September last year, replacing the Motor Vehicle Ordinance, 1983.

According to section 105 of the new act, if anybody gets seriously injured or killed in a motor vehicle-related accident, it would be considered an offence under the relevant sections of the Penal Code-1860.

However, no matter what section 304(B) of the Penal Code contains, if anybody causes accident by reckless and negligent driving, and kills or injures someone severely, the person will face a maximum sentence of five years in jail or fine or both, reads section 105 of the RTA.

The offences that fall under section 105 are not bailable.

The maximum punishment under section 302 of the Penal Code is the death penalty while it is life imprisonment under section 304(B).

The law also hands hefty fines for violation of traffic rules.

For driving without a licence, the maximum penalty is six months in jail or a fine of Tk 25,000 or both. It is same for running unfit vehicles.

The maximum punishment for driving vehicles without registration is six months’ jail sentence or Tk 50,000 in fine or both. The highest punishment for honking banned horns is three months’ jail term or Tk 10,000 fine or both.

The law says the maximum punishment for illegally modifying vehicles’ body parts is three years’ jail sentence or Tk 3,00,000 fine or both.

According to the previous law, the maximum punishment for driving without licence was four months’ jail or Tk 500 fine or both. For driving vehicle without registration, the punishment was 3 months’ jail or Tk 2,000 fine or both (for the first time) while for running unfit vehicles the punishment was three months in jail or Tk 2,000 fine or both.