AI cameras planned for Dhaka-Mawa Expressway, with automatic cases for law-breaking vehicles

A move is under way to install artificial intelligence, AI, cameras on the Dhaka-Mawa Expressway to reduce reckless speeding, risky overtaking and driving in defiance of traffic laws. The plan is to use the cameras to identify law-breaking vehicles and file cases automatically.

Officials hope that once implemented, the initiative will cut accidents on this important highway and restore discipline on the road.

The Dhaka-Mawa Expressway is one of the main links between the capital Dhaka and 21 districts in the south. Of the 55-kilometre road, 35 kilometres pass through Munshiganj district. Traffic on the road has risen since the Padma Bridge opened.

Yet accidents occur frequently on the expressway for reasons including reckless speed and risky overtaking, leaving people killed and many others injured.

According to the Munshiganj Fire Service and Civil Defence office, about 589 road accidents took place on the Dhaka-Mawa Expressway between 25 June 2022, when the Padma Bridge was inaugurated, and 25 October 2026. Those accidents killed 152 people and injured 950.

Muhammad Shafiqul Islam, deputy assistant director of Munshiganj Fire Service and Civil Defence, said the main causes of most accidents are reckless speed, risky overtaking and disregard for traffic laws. Alongside raising driver awareness, effective surveillance is needed, he said.

Road Transport and Bridges, Railways and Shipping Minister Sheikh Rabiul Alam disclosed the AI camera initiative for the Dhaka-Mawa Expressway while answering journalists' questions during a recent visit to inspect development work in Munshiganj.

Minister Sheikh Rabiul Alam said a project has been taken up to bring the Dhaka-Mawa Expressway under AI camera control. National highways have already come under AI camera observation, and district and regional highways will gradually be brought under round-the-clock surveillance with AI cameras as well. Legal action will be taken against those who break road laws, he said.

Syed Mohammad Akhtar, officer-in-charge of Padma Bridge North police station, said reckless speed is one of the main causes of most accidents on the expressway. The plan is to bring the whole expressway under AI cameras to detect speeding, risky overtaking and other violations. If vehicles breaking the law can be identified through AI and cases filed automatically, drivers will be more inclined to obey the law, he said, making it possible to restore discipline and reduce accidents.

Md Mominul Islam, sub-divisional engineer of the Roads and Highways Department, said speed-limit signs and markings are in place at various points to prevent accidents, and CC cameras have also been installed at different places on the road. Accidents happen because of reckless speed, risky overtaking, sudden U-turns, driver inattention, disregard for traffic laws and dense fog, he noted.

Munshiganj Superintendent of Police Md Menhazul Alam said if speed-limit violations and other traffic offences on the expressway can be detected through AI cameras and action taken, drivers will be more inclined to follow the law. He expressed hope that this will bring a positive change in reducing accidents and ensuring safe travel on the Dhaka-Mawa Expressway.