Badrul Ahsan :The government has set a maximum speed limit of 50 kilometers per hour (KMPH) in foggy weather conditions on the highways.The decision came after a spate of recent road accidents across the country that left many people dead, including the son of Land Minister Shamsur Rahman Sharif.The National Road Safety Council, chaired by Road Transportation and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader, took the decision to change the speed limit at a meeting held in the Secretariat on Tuesday. “The vehicles have to keep their speed in between 40 and 50 KMPH during foggy conditions and they have to turn on their fog-lights,” the Minister told The New Nation.He informed that vehicles might have to stop running on highways if there is dense fog.On Saturday morning, two simultaneous accidents on the Bangabandhu Bridge killed nine people, including the son of Land Minister Shamsur Rahman Sharif. Around 45 persons, including reporters and police, were also injured in the accidents. “Many accidents occurred in the last couple of days due to dense fog which prompted us to decide to limit the speed of vehicles on the highways across the country,” Executive Engineer of Bridges authority Abul Kalam said.On Tuesday early morning, nine people died in similar accidents in Rangpur and Sirajganj. Many other similar accidents were also recorded with the police department on the day, mostly due to the foggy condition. “At least ten accidents were recorded with different police stations across the country on Tuesday,” a high official of Bangladesh Police told The New Nation.He also said, many of such accidents are not registered with the police. “The number of accidents will be much more than that of recorded with us as people avoid to record with the police stations to avoid hassles,” he said.
