The parliament has passed the Road Transport Act 2018 with the provision of up to five years in jail and Tk 500,000 fine or both for causing severe injury or death by reckless driving.
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader moved the bill in the House on Wednesday which was passed by voice votes.
Placing the bill, the minister said the new transport law will be enacted through replacing the existing Motor Vehicles Ordinance, 1983.
The proposed act also has a provision of minimum six months and maximum two years imprisonment and minimum Tk 100,000 and maximum Tk 500,000 fine for using fake driving licenses.
Even minimum six months and maximum two years jail and minimum Tk 100,000 and maximum Tk 500,000 fine for using fake registration number on the vehicle, according to the proposed law.
The bill contains 14 sections and 126 articles while the existing law containing 177 articles and 12 schedules.
The cabinet on Aug 6 approved the proposed bill keeping maximum punishment of five years’ imprisonment for causing death to a person by reckless driving, drawing strong criticism from road safety campaigners who termed the sentence insufficient to end anarchy on roads.
In March last year, the cabinet approved on principle the proposed legislation — Road Transport Act — but it remained shelved at the law ministry for more than a year for vetting, amid opposition from transport owners and workers to some of its provisions.
But the government decided to place the draft law before the cabinet amid nationwide student agitation for road safety, following the death of two college students in the capital under a bus on Jul 29.
Earlier, the bill was sent to the concerned parliamentary standing committee on Sept 13 for further scrutiny.