Let’s March Ahead with Motor Vehicles Amendment Act

You're never going to please everyone, and if you do, there's something wrong. – Constance Wu

This is a hard truth and every time someone wants to do good he or she cannot satisfy all. This holds true even for the Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill 2016 introduced in the Lok Sabha by our Hon’ble Transport Minister Shri Nitin Gadkari on the 10^th of April, 2016. The Amendment Bill once passed is set to bring about some crucial changes in the current Motor Vehicles Act. Though the clauses introduced and if implemented strictly is all set to reduce road accidents in India, it is not going down well with all sections of the society.

With a five fold increase in fines, drivers and especially truck drivers who unfortunately form a handful percentage of traffic violators, have expressed their dissatisfaction. The President of Telangana State Lorry Drivers Association, N Bhaskar Reddyhas already started contemplating about a strike if their interest is neglected. “We do not know how we will pay the fines, as such we are operating in losses. We so far only know about the hike in fines and find them very unreasonable. If the MVA is stacked against our self interest, we will be left with no choice but to protest.” While the truck drivers are crying foul, Vinod K Kanumala, chief functionary at Indian Federation of Road Safety is happy with the “good move” but sounds a note of caution about the enforcement department which should act seriously.

Other than the monetary factors, Vinod K Kanumala added that families of road accident victims seek more accountability.  Losing a loved one is never easy and the situation becomes worse when the culprit can’t be put behind bars.

Traffic cops have also welcomed the move of the government as hefty fines will be a deterrent to traffic violations. Though steep fines will work as a deterrent, one needs to guard against corruption as well. One of the steps to increase transparency as suggested by AV Ranganath, Deputy Traffic Commissioner, Hyderabad is to have people pay fines at post office or banks.”

Well there will always be some teething problems, but no problem can be bigger than your safety. Stricter provisions in respect of offences like drunken driving, juvenile driving, driving without licence, overloading etc will make our lives safe.The Bill ofcourse can’t promise a complete stop to road accidents but it will definitely ensure safer roads for you and your loved ones!