Unregistered vehicles a threat to road safety

Bangladesh's roads are notorious for congestion, accidents and chaos. While inadequate infrastructure and careless driving are often blamed, the widespread presence of unregistered vehicles is a less obvious yet highly dangerous problem that undermines road safety and drains public resources. Every day, thousands of vehicles from trucks and private cars to motorbikes and autorickshaws operate outside the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority's (BRTA) legal framework, posing serious hazards to civilians and causing significant financial losses for the government.
Unregistered vehicles directly undermine road safety. Registration ensures that vehicles meet minimum safety standards, can be identified in accidents and tracked by law enforcement agencies. It is far more than a bureaucratic formality. Without proper registration, accountability disappears. Hit-and-run victims often struggle to obtain justice because offending vehicles cannot be traced. Additionally, owners of unregistered vehicles frequently avoid insurance, fitness certification, and regular inspections, increasing the risk of fatal collisions and mechanical failures.
The persistence of unregistered vehicles also highlights systemic issues.
Lengthy registration procedures, corruption, inadequate digital integration, and understaffed BRTA offices discourage compliance. Enforcement remains sporadic: temporary drives by traffic police and magistrates reduce violations only briefly, while lack of continuous monitoring allows the problem to recur. Effective regulation requires coordination between BRTA, traffic authorities and municipal governments.
Unregistered vehicles are not a minor administrative lapse-they are a silent threat to road safety and public resources. Addressing this problem must become a national priority if Bangladesh seeks to reduce traffic accidents, enhance governance and strengthen the economy. Ensuring that every vehicle on the road is registered, accountable, and compliant with the law is essential for safer streets, improved public trust and a more robust economic future.

Md. Zakaria Hossain
Dhaka