Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and Vital Strategies jointly launched the first-ever mass media campaign on Thursday 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 organisation, 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 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, a well well-known young political and social activist, was killed in a road crash in Dhaka on 7 November 2023. 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).
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 organised about the speed limit of motor vehicles. If people drive according to the speed limit, the roads will become safer.
Representatives from BRTA, DMP, DTCA, World Resources Institute, World Health Organization, Safe Road Movement, Work for a Better Bangladesh, Nirapad Sharak Andalon, SIEAM, 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.
