DHAKA, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh on Monday observed the National Road Safety Day 2018 with the slogan "Will obey law; will make roads safe."

The day's program began with a rally in Dhaka in the morning.

Government and non-government organizations have chalked out elaborate programs to mark the day, which Bangladesh observes since last year in wake of rising road accidents in the country.

Bangladesh has one of the highest fatality rates for road accidents in the world mainly due to shoddy highways, poorly maintained vehicles, violation of traffic rules and lack of monitoring of the traffic department.

The Bangladeshi government has recently approved the draft of Road Transport Act 2018 with provisions for stringent punishment to the traffic offenders.