BD steps up road safety drive with a big driver training deal

Bangladesh has taken a major step towards safer roads with the signing of a crucial agreement to train 60,000 vehicle drivers nationwide, aiming to reduce road fatalities and build a skilled transport workforce, reports UNB.
A deal was signed at the Road Transport and Highways Division between the Bangladesh Road Safety Project and the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) on Thursday.
The agreement aims to deliver large-scale, structured driver training as part of a broader national road safety strategy.
The deal was signed on behalf of the Bangladesh Road Safety Project by its Project Director Sabbir Hasan Khan. Abdul Latif Mollah, Chairman (Additional Secretary) of BRTC, signed it on behalf of the corporation.
The agreement forms part of the Bangladesh Road Safety Project, jointly financed by the government and the World Bank.
The project was approved at an ECNEC meeting on April 18, 2023 and has been designed to address one of the country's most pressing public safety challenges: the high number of deaths and injuries caused by road accidents.
The project's core objectives are twofold-to reduce road traffic fatalities and serious injuries, and to strengthen the road safety management capacity of relevant agencies.
To achieve this, Bangladesh is piloting the internationally recognised Safe System Approach, which treats road safety as a shared responsibility across road design, vehicles, speed management, post-crash response and, crucially, driver behaviour.
One of the five key pillars of the Safe System Approach is the presence of skilled and responsible drivers. This pillar lies at the heart of the newly signed training programme.
Training 60,000 drivers nationwide
Under the programme, 40,000 new drivers will receive four-month-long professional training to develop them into skilled drivers, while an additional 20,000 existing professional drivers will undergo advanced training.
The latter will focus on road safety principles, pedestrian rights and higher-level driving competencies.
In total, 60,000 drivers will be trained under this initiative.