Particularly those who use motorcycles as a means of quick transportation, have voiced their concerns with the draft policy.

How logical is this new law, and what is the public thinking about it? Is it a good idea to implement such a speed limit in the first place? 

The streets in Bangladesh, especially Dhaka, are notorious for frequent accidents, lack lustre regulations, and a general lack of safety.

A report by the Passenger Association of Bangladesh revealed that 9,951 people were killed and 12,356 injured due to road accidents in Bangladesh in 2022 alone. The number of accidents has been on the rise in recent years, culminating in this eight year peak.

This has alarm bells ringing everywhere, and the department of road transport and highways has decided to come up with a draft policy to put restrictions on vehicles, specifically motorcycles, to address the situation.

The draft policy states that motorcycles cannot exceed a speed limit of 30 km/h in city streets, and motorcycles below 126cc will not be allowed on highways. This will be a very drastic change that is bound to garner strong reactions. This will particularly affect a huge number of people who frequently use ride-sharing apps for motorcycles like Pathao, which has turned motorcycles into one of the most commonly used modes of transportation for people in cities.

However, this has also raised concerns about road accidents due to the speed at which motorcycles run, so it makes sense that new restrictions are being discussed.

"Bikers cannot go over 30 km/h, so accidents are less frequent. As such, I think it's a pretty good law," said Minhazur Rahman, an undergraduate student and frequent ride-sharing app user. It is indeed true that if motorcycles operate at lower speeds, it's much less likely that they'll get into accidents, thus making them safer to use.

But the draft policy faced criticism as well, with people being concerned about whether or not they will even be enforced properly.

"They can break laws anytime. As we know, in Bangladesh laws are not strictly followed," added Minhazur.

This just goes to show that even if people think the laws are good, they don't have faith in law enforcement to execute them. If people don't believe that the laws will be enforced, they wouldn't feel obligated to follow them in the first place, and potential victims of accidents will not feel any safer. This raises the question – what is the point of introducing these laws if they cannot be properly implemented?

Others, particularly those who use motorcycles as a means of quick transportation, have also voiced their concerns with the draft policy as well.

"I use bikes to travel faster to places, so if the bike cannot go over 30 km/h, how am I supposed to do that?" said Zarin Khan, another university student who occasionally uses ride-sharing apps to travel via bike to her classes. This reveals that one of the major reasons behind the rising popularity of motorcycles is their speed and convenience, so if that's taken away, their popularity might also dwindle.

"People will be unwilling to use bikes and the market share of the bike industry will go down," said Sifat Bin Hossain, another student and avid ride-sharing app user.

Therefore, the economic impact of this draft policy cannot be ignored either. Many people rely on ride-sharing apps to make a living or as a side-job, and if the market crashes, they might become unemployed and fall into financial ruin. This is something that authorities need to keep in mind during the legislative process, and in case it does negatively affect the people who make a living from the apps, they should be given alternative opportunities or compensation. This is especially important because of the high inflation that's imposing an unbearable cost of living upon many.

When it comes to the law on barring motorcycles under 126cc on highways, the reaction seems more positive.

"Bikes aren't supposed to be allowed on highways. There are too many accidents," said Zarin, who deemed bikers are responsible for most of the motorcycle-related accidents on highways. It is also important to discuss what else can be done to make streets safer.

According to Minhazur, "Laws should be enforced strictly and punishment should be given when the laws are broken and they should not be avoided (through) corruption."

This opinion was echoed by Zarin too who said, "Make the laws stricter. Introduce lots of fines and taxes so that people will be scared of breaking the laws."

These sentiments point toward how people believe not enough is being done to ensure laws are being followed, and also raises the point that corruption plays a big role in perpetuating that. Specifically, bribery has pretty much become normalised, and it is an open secret that people can usually get away with violating safety rules by illegally paying off police officers. If such issues are not tackled on a systemic level, and illegal activities like this aren't cracked down on, it's unlikely we will see much change.

Another important aspect of road safety is the quality of the actual roads. According to The Global Economy, Bangladesh ranked 107th out of 141 countries in its 2019 quality of roads ranking, below neighbours India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The people of Bangladesh are feeling the effects of such miserable conditions on the streets too.

"The roads are rough and broken. They should be repaired (according to) international standards," said Sifat, a university student who experiences this injurious state of the streets firsthand when riding motorcycles on the way to university.

This goes to show that although the new draft policy is a promising start, it is far from sufficient, and is riddled with issues that need to be addressed. Accidents cannot be reduced by just introducing a few new laws that may or may not even be enforced or followed.

Road safety is a broad and complex issue, and systemic change needs to be brought about alongside new restrictions and investments to ensure it. And for that, constructive feedback from people who will be affected by these laws, as well as experts, are paramount.