One of the ugliest sides of a city is traffic jam and Dhaka city is in its ugliest shape in recent times. Though traffic jam is an old fear for the people living in the city in the context of the post-pandemic reopening of schools and full swing resumption of offices in the capital, it has turned into a nightmare for the public at large and transport authorities as well. Office attendees, students, teachers, along with other private and public job holders are the sufferers of this ill-favored situation.  Lately, there have been incidents of students missing their exams and job holders missing out on important official meetings due to the unprecedented nature and extent of traffic congestion in Dhaka.

There are many reasons behind the intolerable traffic jam in the city and one of them is the increasing number of individual private cars and transports. Often, these vehicles do not have proper fitness certificates. Schools and college buses are quite rare now, for which students are using their private transports for commuting to schools during peak hours. According to a statement of Assistant Commissioner, Traffic Zone of Dhaka Metropolitan Police to the Business Standard, almost twenty thousand private cars are dropping and picking up the students of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College situated in Baily Road alone, which is contributing to heavy traffic. Similar scenes can be seen around other schools and colleges as well.

Another reason for heavy traffic congestion is the ongoing construction works on the roads. Many of the roads have been cut off for the construction of metro rail and drainage systems. As a consequence, traffic in the city is turning   horrific every passing day. Broken road divide is another reason for traffic jam. Small transports such as motor vehicles, auto rickshaws divert through these broken dividers which is also causing traffic jam.

The Road Transport Act, 2018 has been passed for suppressing, regulating, and preventing unnecessary and illegal activities on the road. Section 25 of the Act deals with the fitness of the transports and punishment for using transports which do not have proper fitness, as has been mentioned under section 75 of the Act. Sections 4 and 5 of the same Act concern licensing of the drivers. Punishment for the individuals who are not having proper license to drive cars has been mentioned under section 66 of the Act. If anyone violates section 25, they shall be punished with imprisonment of not more than 6 years or with fine up to Taka 25,000 or both. In case of violation of section 25 of the Act the punishment shall remain the same as violation of sections 4 and 5. However, the Road Transport Act, 2018 does not have any particular provisions for the illegal movement of vehicles through the broken road dividers yet.

The laws and traffic regulations are not properly implemented by the authority, leading to mismanagement on road and traffic congestion.

Therefore, a thorough review of the traffic rules and regulations, as well as the policies on traffic management should be conducted. All the unfit vehicles without license and proper documentation should be barred from moving by laws. The policymakers should extend the punishment on a regular basis in order to create an effective deterrent on the occurrence of traffic offences.         

The writer an Associate at L.A.W-Legal and Arbitration Wizards.