DHAKA: The government has said that the Road Transport Act 2018 will be enforced from November 1.

Road Transport and Bridges Ministry on Tuesday (Oct 22) issued a gazette in this regard.

Earlier on September 19 in 2018, the parliament has passed the Road Transport Act with five-year jail term and Tk 500,000 fines for casualties in crashes caused by reckless driving.

The maximum punishment will be death penalty under the new law if murder charge is proved in fatal road crash.

In the new law, the government increases the punishment for it to at least five years. As per the existing law, three years' jail is the maximum punishment for this offence.

On Aug 6, the cabinet cleared the draft act. 

A person has to be 18 years old to apply for a driving licence. The minimum age to get professional driving licence is 21 years in line with the new law. The drivers must study at least up to grade eight.

Drivers, conductors or their representatives must take victims of road crash to hospital and inform police or fire service, the law says. The maximum punishment for violating this provision is one-month jail term or Tk 20,000 fines or both.

BDST: 1954 HRS, OCT 23, 2019
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