In response, the government hastily passed a road safety act. Several measures were taken to improve road safety. However, most of these initiatives remain unrealized.

The leaders of the 2018 road safety movement were primarily school and college students. By 2024, they had become undergraduate or graduate students in higher education institutions. In July, they led an anti-discrimination student movement. This led to the fall of the Awami League and the formation of an interim government, with visible influence from the students.

However, the country's roads remain unsafe, and fatalities and chaos statistics are still rising. Despite their role in the road safety movement, these student leaders no longer speak about road safety.

In 2018, students stayed on the streets for 10 days. They faced attacks from police and the student wing of the ruling party. Their persistent demands forced the government to take action. As a result, the Road Transport Act of 2018 was passed. The Prime Minister's Governance Innovation Unit issued 18 directives to restore road order. The police, Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), and city corporations took various steps. However, after a few days, the initiatives were lost individually. The road law was amended to reduce the punishment for drivers responsible for accidents. Although the student movement immediately succeeded, it did not play a far-reaching role in establishing road safety.

As a result, road chaos has increased, and so has the number of fatalities. According to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), in the fiscal year 2017-18, 2,513 people died in road accidents across the country. In the fiscal year 2022-23, this number increased to 4,371. BRTA's latest data from 2024 reveals that 5,380 people died in road accidents.

Despite the rise in road accidents, leaders involved in the road safety movement have not spoken much about it since the 2018 movement and after the July 2024 uprising. Samantha Sharmin, the senior joint convener of the newly formed political party, Jatiya Nagorik Party, was a student at Dhaka University during the 2018 quota reform movement. She was also active in the student-led movement demanding safer roads shortly after the quota movement. Many of her classmates joined the road safety movement as well.

When asked if she or the interim government had offered advice or proposals on road safety and discipline, Samanta Sharmin told Bonik Barta, "We are not in the ruling party. The government has not asked us for any proposals. We haven’t given any proposals either. If asked, we will cooperate with the government from a collective standpoint."

"Among the government's tasks, road management is among the most important. However, I haven’t seen any action in the government's activities. We hope the government will take the initiative on road management alongside its other tasks," she added.

Samanta Sharmin emphasized the importance of forming a commission to ensure road safety. She said, "If there is a commission, any task moves forward. At least the proposals from the commission put pressure on the next government."

Inzamul Haq was the joint convener of the 2018 road safety movement. The platform created for the movement is still active today. However, he now works as a member of the Jatiya Nagorik Party. When asked about the platform's activities for road safety, he told Bonik Barta, "The situation today is different from before. The current government is working to establish the rights of the people. So, while raising awareness at the grassroots level, we are also working with the government on policy-making. We are trying to assist the current interim government."

He believes that road safety issues are not progressing due to the indifference of bureaucrats and political influence.

In April 2018, the Sadharon Shikkharthi Odhikar Songrokkhon Parishad was formed in the context of the quota reform movement. Later, it became known as the Chhatra Odhikar Parishad. On August 4 of the same year, the organization called for a nationwide strike in all educational institutions, demanding 9 points for road safety. The joint convener of the organization, Bin Yamin Mollah, announced the program in front of the National Press Club. He currently serves as the president of the organization. Even after the fall of Hasina’s government on August 5 last year, members of the Student Rights Council continued to perform the duties of traffic police.

Bin Yamin Mollah said that they currently have no initiatives for road safety. He told Bonik Barta, "Since 2018, our leaders and workers have played an important role in road safety. However, at this moment, we have no specific programs for road safety."

He mentioned that they plan to launch various campaigns in the future.

Many students who participated in the road safety movement say their focus is no longer limited to one issue. Their attention has spread to various concerns.

During the road safety movement, Ariful Islam Adib, a former organizer at Jahangirnagar University, actively blocked the Dhaka-Aricha highway. Later, he became the central general secretary of the Chhatra Odhikar Parishad. Due to his role in the 2024 uprising, he became the joint convener of the Jatiya Nagorik Committee. He now serves as the Senior Joint Convener of the new student party, the Jatiya Nagorik Party.

He told Bonik Barta, "We didn’t just grow up with the road safety or quota reform movements. We’ve been part of many movements, such as against extrajudicial killings, disappearances, police custody deaths, and rising commodity prices. In the end, we were able to drive out a dictatorship. So, our focus is no longer just on safe roads but various other issues."

The 2018 road safety movement was led by school and college students. At that time, Md Abu Shadik (Kayem), the current central literature secretary of the Chhatra Shibir, played an active role in the movement as a member of the Surja Sen Hall branch of Dhaka University. When asked about his thoughts on road safety after August 5, he told Bonik Barta, "We are working on state reform. This includes institutional reforms, health and education system reforms, judicial and administrative reforms, and reforms at every state level. We are talking about everything, from road safety to public safety. We are working at the macro level to bring about radical change, whereas before, we were focused on the micro level."

During the road safety movement, the student wing of the BNP (Chhatra Dal) also played a role. While Chhatra Dal leaders showed interest in road safety then, they are no longer vocal about the issue. When this was pointed out, Anisur Rahman Khandaker Anik, Vice President of Dhaka University Chhatra Dal, told Bonik Barta, "The law passed as a result of the movement has only benefited the fascist government, not the people. We are still with the students and people who are demanding road safety. But after the fall of the murderer Hasina, the larger reform efforts in the country have shifted attention away from the roads. Still, road safety is an important issue. Chhatra Dal leaders and workers will support any initiative for road safety by students and the public."

Private university students played an important role in the anti-discrimination student movement, which became an uprising. Many of these students were also active in the 2018 road safety movement. One of them is Koushik Ghosh Dip, a student in the Department of Information Science at East West University. In 2018, he was an eighth-grade student at Power Development Board High School. At that time, he was on the streets with his classmates, demanding safer roads.

Although Koushik believes road safety is "extremely necessary," he feels the solution depends on the government's sincerity. He said, "There is no way to solve this without the government's sincerity. If the government and administration are not strong, we can do nothing from our side."