M Humayun Kabir: The government has endorsed the draft Road Transport Act 2018 with a provision of the highest 5 years’ jail or fine or both for any death or serious injuries caused by reckless driving.
The approval came on Monday’s weekly meeting at Bangladesh Secretariat with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair amid the ongoing student movement demanding safe road, reports UNB.
The draft law contains the provision of maximum five-year non-bailable jail term, Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam told reporters after the meeting.
Under the proposed law, if death through road crash is proved as intentional murder then the offenders will be punished as per the Penal Code.
Earlier, the highest punishment for the crime was three years’ imprisonment, and now it has been increased to five years, said Roads and Highway Department secretary Nazrul Islam while talking to reporters after the meeting.
Under the proposed law, it is a non-bailable offence while it was bailable one in the previous law, he added.