Call to Ban Unfit Vehicles for Safe Eid Travel

Journalists and road safety advocates have urged the government to immediately remove unfit vehicles from roads and highways to ensure a safe and hassle-free journey for homebound passengers during the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha holidays.

The recommendations were made at a media discussion titled “The Mass Media Role in Road Safety”, held on Wednesday at the conference room of the Health Sector of Dhaka Ahsania Mission in Shyamoli.

Presenting the keynote paper, Sharmeen Rahman, Project Coordinator of the Road Safety Project under the Health Sector of Dhaka Ahsania Mission, expressed concern over the alarming rise in road crashes and fatalities during Eid travel in 2026 compared to the previous year.

She said the increasing number of accidents has once again exposed the weaknesses in the country’s road safety management system. Warning that the situation could worsen further without immediate intervention, she emphasized the need for strict speed control on highways, a complete ban on unfit vehicles, adequate rest facilities for drivers, and the operation of mobile courts at critical points across the country.

She also recommended limiting the movement of heavy trucks on highways before and after Eid, controlling overspeeding through speed guns, introducing additional digital booths at toll plazas, and conducting mobile court drives to prevent overcharging of passengers.

Muhammad Jahangir Alam, General Secretary of the Shipping and Communication Reporters Forum (SCRF) and Special Correspondent of United News of Bangladesh (UNB), stressed the importance of deploying an adequate number of highway police personnel to reduce road crashes during Eid travel. He also urged authorities to ensure that unfit buses are not allowed to leave terminals.

Senior Reporter of The Daily Ittefaq, Jamiul Ahsan Shipu, said long queues at toll plazas and bridges during Eid often create severe traffic congestion. To ease the situation, he recommended increasing the number of toll booths during the holiday rush.

Senior Reporter of Daily Naya Diganta, Aminul Islam, observed that despite the existence of multiple laws, loopholes and weak enforcement often allow offenders to evade punishment. He said limitations within the Road Transport Act continue to hinder effective implementation, making it difficult to significantly reduce road crashes.

Touhiduzzaman Tanmoy, Staff Correspondent of JagoNews24.com, noted that although road crash incidents regularly receive media coverage, the root causes and follow-up investigations are often missing from reports. He emphasized the need for more investigative and follow-up journalism on road safety issues.

Moderating the discussion, Shuvra Deb, Senior Reporter (Crime) of Daily Manabzamin, said road safety is not the responsibility of a single organization or institution alone; rather, it requires coordinated efforts from all stakeholders, including the media.

The participating journalists also stressed the importance of mandatory use of BSTI-approved helmets, limiting motorcycles to a maximum of two riders including the driver, preventing reckless lane changing, designating separate lanes for motorcycles on highways, and strengthening monitoring against dangerous overtaking.

They further called for wider public awareness campaigns and urged the government to formulate and strictly enforce a comprehensive road safety law based on the “Safe System Approach” to ensure safer journeys during Eid and throughout the year.