Buckling seatbelts while driving and wearing helmets when riding motorbikes have been made mandatory in the country in a bid to curb road accidents.
The 33rd meeting of the Road Transport Advisory Council has also decided to impose a ban on talking over mobile phones while driving. The meeting was held yesterday at the communications ministry in the secretariat.
The initiatives would take effect from November 1 and stringent punishment including monetary penalty and imprisonment would be awarded to the violators, said Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain after the meeting.
He said anyone crossing the road instead of using a nearby footbridge or underpass would be taken to police custody for at least 24 hours.
“People are still in a habit of crossing roads rather than taking the footbridges,” he said adding that the law concerned would be amended, if necessary.
The meeting has also decided to launch a drive and demolish all illegal structures on busy roads and highways at places like Bhulta, Bhanga, Savar, Chandana, Mawna, Gazipur Chowrasta and Konabari from Wednesday.
The communications minister said the drive would be completed within the next two months.
The meeting also asked the highway police to stop small public vehicles like Nasimons and Karimons running on the highways.
It also took decision on turning the kitchen markets at New Market and Gulshan-1 and 2 in the capital into multi-storey structures with car parks, removing all construction materials piled up on roads and unwanted advertisements and posters from electric poles and reinstallation of traffic signals at different intersections.
The meeting has asked the authorities concerned to take necessary steps in this regard.
Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan, secretaries of home and communications ministries, acting inspector general of police and his deputies, chairman of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority and transport workers attended the meeting.
