ঢাকাশনিবার , ২৩ মে ২০২৬
The Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) trained Chattogram Metropolitan Police officers to reduce speeding to save lives, by enforcing the new national speed limit guideline. In Chattogram, over 44% of vehicles exceed the speed limit, according to recent research, leading to nearly a hundred reported crash deaths per year. The workshop enhanced the police’s capacity to enforce the speed guideline to ensure safer roads in the city.
As part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety, the Partnership conducted the workshop from May 20-22. Commissioner Hasan Md. Showkat Ali inaugurated the training. In his remarks, he emphasized on creating awareness among the drivers besides enforcement of existing traffic laws. He urged that we should focus on saving lives on the road rather than saving time; therefore, we need to avoid over speeding.
Deputy Police Commissioner (Headquarters), Mr. Ferdous Ali Chowdhury, also participated in the workshop as a special guest.
The Partnership’s Asia Pacific Senior Road Policing Advisor Mr. Peter Jones conducted the training sessions which focused on police enforcement of speed limits in preventing road traffic crashes, the role of high speeds in fatal crashes, technologies and tactics, and the safe management of roadside checkpoints.
The new speed limit guideline requires that vehicles going more than 80kmph on open roads, 50kmph in cities, or 30kmph around schools, be given up to three months’ jail or a fine of Tk 10,000 or both by police. Despite this, 44% of vehicles exceed the speed limits, with motorcycles topping the list as 70% were found speeding, according to the ‘Road Safety Risk Factors in Chattogram: Status Summary Report 2024’ published by JH-IIRU and CIPRB.
Mr. Jones expressed that “speed enforcement is a vitally important part of the ‘Safe System’ approach to road safety. I value the opportunity provided by Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety to work with the Chattogram Metropolitan Police, Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) and Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) to deliver these capacity building workshops as we work towards our shared goal of reducing road traffic injuries and deaths within the community of Chattogram.”
72 police officers including Sergeants, Sub-inspectors, Police Inspectors, Assistant Police Commissioners and Additional Deputy Commissioners participated in the workshop. Four BRTA Inspectors also participated in the workshop.
At the end of the workshop, Additional Police Commissioner (Traffic) Mr. Wahidul Hoque Chowdhury provided certificates to the participants.
