India’s
daily death toll due to road accidents is more than four times the annual death
toll from terrorism. Every person going on the road has risk of injury or death
such as pedestrians, motorists, cyclists, passengers, etc. Drivers’ fault is
the single most important factor responsible for accidents: Revealed by an
analysis of road accident data by Ministry of Road Transport &
Highways. This highlights the fact that
Government must enforce stricter road rules in India and also provide adequate
infrastructure to safeguard its citizens.
If a drunken
person kills another person, it is considered murder but if a drunken driver
kills a whole family on the road due to negligent driving, he can get away with
a minimal fine. This is a serious lapse
of law in our country. We all know how
easy it is to get a driving license in India.
We also know how easy it is to escape after a road offence in
India. RTO offices are traditionally
considered to be one of the biggest centers of corruption and bribe in
India.
As quoted by
Dr. P. Hirishikesh, Chairman of Institute of Health Systems, nobody cares for
traffic rules in India; they are treated like best practices rather than compulsory. Talking about human errors is ridiculous in
India. But which human error are we
talking about? Unless there is a grand
National mindset change (or strict governance) things will remain as they are.
At
present an innocent person who is injured on the road for no fault of his has
no support from the Government. The entire burden of treatment and support to
the family falls on him. The Government has absolved itself of its duties and
responsibilities. This is morally not
correct. It is the fundamental duty of
the Government to enforce laws and make roads safe for its citizens.
Ministry
of Road Transport and Highways initiated the Road Transport and Safety Bill (RTSB)
which is expected to be presented in Parliament in the monsoon session. The Group of Transport Ministers Conference
has come up with some 30 plus recommendations to finalize changes in the 1988
Motor Vehicle Act. One major
recommendation by the GoM is stringent penal provisions for repeat offenders on
grave traffic violations, by revoking the license for two years of a third time
offender. This will not only act as a
deterrent but will definitely reduce the number of accidents on the roads.
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