Steps Towards Development has conducted a week-long awareness campaign in Bogra in October 2024 on the occasion of National Road Safety Day with the slogan “Make roads safe for all”.
As part of the campaign under the “Strengthening Road Safety Act and Civil Society Action in Bangladesh” project, the organization organized a discussion meeting and distribution of awareness leaflets on road crash prevention among the students of YMCA Public School and College in the city from 22 October 2024 Sunday morning.
Under the chairmanship of Advocate Mozammel Haque and the management of the project mentor Sheikh Abu Rahat Md. Mashruqul Islam, the members of the project’s Policy Influence Group, YMCA Public School and College Principal Robert Robin Marandi, District Civil Surgeon’s Office Senior Health and Education Officer Abdul Hannan, former councilor and social worker Khorshed Alam, and Rural Development Project Chief Coordinator Sheikh Md. Abu Hasanat Sayeed spoke on various important aspects of the role of students in road crash prevention. The program was moderated by PUP Program Officer Nilufa Yasmin. The speakers in the campaign said that according to the Global Status Report on Road Safety, more than 1 million people die every year in road crashes worldwide.
That is 2 people per minute and more than 32,000 people per day, most of whom are children and income-earners. According to the World Health Organization, more than 30,000 lives are lost in various road crashes in Bangladesh every year, which is very tragic. In such a situation, there is no alternative to obeying the law and increasing personal awareness. They urged the students, through whom Bangladesh is moving forward today, to play a role in creating a circle of awareness in preventing road crashes. Along with this, the participants also spoke about timely amendments to the current Motor Vehicle Act to prevent road crashes and enact a new road safety law.
It is worth noting that on the occasion of National Road Safety Day, this awareness campaign is being conducted in 5 educational institutions of Bogra to prevent road crashes under the project, where hundreds of students from different classes are not only learning about the Motor Vehicle Act, but also becoming aware of what they should do.
