Transport minister calls for specialised police unit to improve highway safety

Bangladesh’s transport minister has called for a specialised police division for road safety and highway management, arguing that officers cannot build the necessary expertise if they move constantly between general policing and highway duties.

“Can it work if someone is in general police today and highway police tomorrow? Definitely not,” Shaikh Rabiul Alam said at a workshop in Dhaka on developing the capacity of road safety and highways divisions. He said officers assigned to such a unit should receive specialised training, gain experience and build their careers within the same structure. He said engineers and other road-safety officials should follow a similar model.

The minister identified poorly trained drivers as another major concern. Projects have addressed driver training, vehicle fitness tests, drug tests and other checks, he said, but their effectiveness still needs assessment. Roadworthy vehicles, competent drivers, speed control, helmet use by motorcyclists and greater public awareness are all essential, he added.

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Can it work if someone is in general police today and highway police tomorrow? Definitely not.

Alam said nearly 5,000 people die in road crashes in Bangladesh every year because of mistakes, reckless driving or negligence. “We have to come out of this situation,” he said. The government has committed to passing a comprehensive road safety law by December 2027 and is working toward its road safety goals for 2030.

He also urged authorities to repair roads before serious damage develops. Policies set the service life of buses at 20 years and trucks at 25 years, while policies for scrapping and recycling unfit vehicles have been formulated but not implemented. Alam questioned whether large sums spent on safety programmes are delivering enough, noting World Bank projects and Asian Development Bank technical and financial support. Bangladesh, he said, is good at holding seminars but weaker at applying their recommendations. Authorities should identify accident blackspots, study recurring crashes and base decisions on data rather than assumptions, he said.

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We have to come out of this situation.