Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and Vital Strategies jointly launched the first-ever mass media campaign today to inform the public, including drivers, about the Motor Vehicle Speed ​​Limit Guidelines 2024. The campaign was officially launched at the conference room of DNCC this afternoon. The campaign’s promotional materials have been developed with the technical support of Vital Strategies, a global public health organization, under the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS).

The inaugural ceremony of the campaign was presided over by DNCC Chief Executive Officer (Additional Duty) Muhammad Asaduzzaman. DNCC Chief Engineer Brig: Gen: Md. Moin Uddin, SUP, SPP, ndc, psc, spoke as the guest of honor. BIGRS Initiative Coordinator and Additional Secretary (Retd.) Md. Abdul Wadud moderated the ceremony, and Road Transport and Highway Division Joint Secretary, Md. Muniruzzaman, BRTC’s GM (Operation) Major Md. Nizam Uddin, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Addl. Deputy Police Commissioner (Traffic Gulshan Division) Md. Ziaur Rahman, Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority’s (DTCA) Senior Road Safety Specialist, Md. Mamunur Rashid, DNCC Superintendent Engineer Khandaker Mahbub Alam, road traffic victim Rebecca Sultana Nila, Vital Strategies’ technical consultant Aminul Islam Sujon, among others, spoke at the ceremony.

The campaign materials include videos of 30 seconds, 45 seconds, 1 minute and 90 seconds and will be shared on websites, social media and on digital outdoor screens on the road. Rebecca Sultana Nila participated in the video. Her husband, Ariful Islam, well well-known young political and social activist, was killed in a road crash in Dhaka on November 7, 2023.  She highlights the experience of losing her and their child’s loved ones and the subsequent experience. She calls on everyone to drive according to the speed limit on the road.

Two different designs of posters were developed to display as signage on the side of the road. These posters call for driving according to the speed limit. This campaign material will also be disseminated through DMP, DTCA, Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA).

Muhammad Asaduzzaman said, various steps are being taken to make the roads of Dhaka North City safe. We work with the relevant government, private and international organizations. This work for road safety will be accelerated. Md. Moniruzzaman said that government is implementing speed limit guidelines. This campaign will support the government in implementation of this guideline, especially will aware the drivers of speed limit. He thanks DNCC, DMP and the organizations concerned for organizing this campaign.

Brig.G. Md. Moin Uddin said pedestrians, motorcyclists and cyclists are more vulnerable on the roads in Dhaka. DNCC will make wide footpaths, draw zebra crossings, and improve infrastructure for the safe movement of pedestrians. As part of this, an awareness campaign has been organized about the speed limit of motor vehicles. If people drive according to the speed limit, the roads will become safer.

Md. Abdul Wadud said, BRTA has formulated Motor Vehicle Speed ​​Limit Guidelines 2024 under the Road Transport Act that sets speed limits based on type of road and vehicle. The maximum speed limit is set at 40 km/h on national/regional highways within the city and 30 km/h on most other roads. Local government institutions such as city corporations have been given authority to set reasonable speed limits.

It is noting that at night on November 7, 2023, Ariful Islam (42) and his friend Souvik Arjun (44) were killed after being hit by a speeding truck on the road in Dhaka. Rebecca Sultana Nila, wife of the late Ariful Islam, said, “If the speed of the truck had been lower, Arif and Arjun might have survived. My child lost his father due to speeding truck.” She said, “No premature death on the road is desirable. Speed limits or traffic law violations or road mismanagement should be stopped. So that no more children lose a father, no wife loses a husband, or no mother loses a child.”

Engineer Khandaker Mahbub Alam said, from 9 pm to 8 am, In Dhaka, vehicles drive with speeding, and during the day, irritated drivers in traffic jams drive at excessive speeds when they find empty roads, which makes the roads unsafe. Therefore, this mass media campaign will play a supportive role in raising awareness about the speed limit guidelines.

Representatives from BRTA, DMP, DTCA, World Resources Institute, World Health Organization, Safe Road Movement, Work for a Better Bangladesh, Nirapad Sharak Andalon, SIEAM, Development Activities Society (DAS) and BRAC, Nirapad Sarak Chai, and members of the Bangladesh Road Safety Coalition including Research-Bangladesh (CIPRB), National Heart Foundation, Dhaka International University, were present at the event.