 |
| Collision Sign |
In the last two posts (Part I and
Part II), we studied various statistics and data that showed us the gravity and
magnitude of the problem of Road Safety in India. We also saw how the number of
Road Traffic Accidents in India are rising every year. In the present post, I
will mention some of the steps taken in the recent years by the Central Government to enhance road safety and road infrastructure. These steps were
mentioned by the Central Government in a detailed counter-affidavit filed in the
case of S. Rajaseekaran Versus Union of India & Others.
Steps Taken by the Central Government
for Road Safety
1. On 15.03.2010, the Government
of India approved the National Road Safety Policy for promoting
awareness, establishing road safety information data base, encouraging safer
road infrastructure including application of intelligent transport, enforcement
of safety laws etc.
2. The National Road Safety
Council has been constituted under Section 215 of the Motor Vehicles Act,
1988.
3. The government initiated an amendment
to the Motor Vehicles Act to provide enhanced penalties for different
offences. This amendment has been passed by the Upper House on 8.5.2012 and
the Bill is presently pending before the Lok Sabha.
4. The Ministry of Road Transport
and Highways, in collaboration with NIC, has created a National Register as
well as State Registers to act as a centralized database for driving licenses
and registration certificates. Furthermore, out of 993 RTOs, 992 RTOs have
been connected with the various State registers and the National Register.
5. A Committee has been
constituted for formulating a National Ambulance Code which has since been
finalized. Incorporation of the said Code within the framework of the Central
Motor Vehicles Rules is under consideration.
6. A Committee has been set up to
make recommendations for a National Helpline for road accident victims based
on a common toll free number (1033) with dedicated round the clock call
centres.
7. A syllabus in first aid has
been made compulsory in driving schools by the government. Also, plans are
underway for incorporating a chapter for road safety for school children and a
book called “Sign Language” containing a chapter on helping road
accident victims has been published and circulated in adequate number to all State
Government schools as well as schools affiliated to the CBSE by the government.
8. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
(MoHFW) has established trauma centres in State Government hospitals to
the extent possible and during the 11th Plan the MoHFW had identified 140
government hospitals in 16 States along the golden quadrilateral
highway for establishing trauma care facilities. The scheme is proposed to
be extended to another 85 government hospitals during the 12th Plan
and such facilities will be located near or on the national highways.
9. A pilot project has
been introduced along a stretch of NH-8 between Delhi and Jaipur wherein 11
ambulances had been deployed at intervals of 20 kilometres and the government
has undertaken to bear the treatment cost up to Rs. 30,000/- for the initial
48 hours.
10. A National Highway
Accident Relief Service Scheme (NHARSS) has also been launched to provide
immediate eviction of injured victims to the nearest medical aid centre and adequate
number of cranes of different capacities, ambulances and life-support ambulances
to carry the victims to 140 identified hospitals had been provided in different
States.
In the next post, I will talk about the directives passed by the Honourable Court in the present case.
No comments:
Post a Comment