Road safety movement: Young adults and collective engagement in social movement

Abstract

Road safety is a concerning issue worldwide. As the proximity of accidents has increased, it has become a severe concern for the masses. Dhaka witnessed its second most significant contemporary movement in 2018; The road safety movement (নিরাপদ সড়ক আন্দোলন). In this movement, the majority was the youth: they gathered and stood together for their right. This movement is proof of collective solidarity that forms mobilization and contributes to collective solidarity. This research aims to examine the reason behind their participation and their experience and expectations. Further, it looks at the social phenomena it helps us to understand. For this study, the qualitative method has been chosen. In-depth interviews with open-ended questions and later thematic analysis were conducted to conduct the study. Nusrat Sabina Chowdhury's theory of crowd, 'Janata-bhir,' Emile Durkheim's concept of solidarity, and Pierre Bourdieu's concept of habitus were used to analyze the findings. This study reflects on their willingness to participate in a movement, their attitude of showing resistance toward authority, and their solidarity during a crisis. This research contributes to further analyzing contemporary movements and examining grounds on which collective solidarity is growing.