NGO calls on RS to approve Motor Vehicle Act amendment

New Delhi, June 19 (IANS) In a bid to reduce road accident deaths in India, Consumer Voice, which works for citizens road safety, on Tuesday asked the Rajya Sabha to pass the bill amending the three-decade-old Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

The amendment bill, passed by the Lok Sabha on April 11 this year, is currently pending in the upper house. 

Speaking at a national workshop on the issue organised here, Consumer Voice Secretary Ashim Sanyal noted that the amendment calls for strong e-governance, heavy fine for traffic violations and capping maximum liability for the third party insurance at Rs 10 lakh in case of death in motor accident.

Noting that in India one person dies in road accident every four minutes while 20 million to 50 million people are injured in road accidents globally, he said: "Number of people killed in road accidents in India is second highest globally... almost 1.5 lakh per year. This translates in to 17 people dying every hour." 

As per the the Road Transport and Highways Ministry's 2016 report, "over-speeding" is the biggest cause of road fatalities in India accounting for 73,896 (49 per cent) deaths. Everyday, 413 persons are killed and 1,327 accidents take place on Indian roads, it said.

The report stressed a tough law is needed to bring down to 50 percent of road traffic accidents by 2020, a commitment India made by adopting the Brasilia Declaration for Road Safety.

BJP MP Parvesh Verma, noting his father and former Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma lost his life in tragic road accident, hoped that the proposed Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill will strengthen the road safety situation in India.