The Rajya Sabha on wednesday passed the Motor Vechicles Amendement Bill,2019.The bill contains provisions that will make Indian roads safer. The Bill was passed earlier in the Lok Sabha.
There were 108 votes for the passage of the Bill and 13 against it. The Bill was passed even as Deputy Chairman Harivansh overruled protest by opposition MPs against the running House beyond the stipulated deadline of 6pm.
Key Amendment :
1. Road Safety
The Bill proposes to increase penalties for traffic violations to act as a future deterrent. It proposes stricter provisions for offences such as drunken driving, juvenile driving, driving without licence, over-speeding, dangerous driving and overloading. It also proposes stricter provisions for driving without helmets. The bill also includes provisions for electronic detection of traffic violations. The penalty for motor vehicles is proposed to be increased by 10 percent every year.
2. Vehicle Fitness
The Bill includes a provision that mandates automated fitness testing for vehicles. This proposal would help reduce corruption in the transport department and improve road worthiness of the vehicle. The motor vehicles bill also proposes penalty for deliberate violation of safety and environmental regulations. The bill proposes regulation of the process of testing and certification of automobiles and it also proposes to bring agencies issuing automobile approvals to be brought under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and vehicle testing stardards to be set. The bill also provides for mandatory recall of defective vehicles.
4. Road Safety Board
The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019 provides for the setting up of a National Road Safety Board by the central government. The National Road Safety Board will be required to advise the central and state governments on all aspects of road safety and traffic management including registeration and licensing of vehicles, standards of motor vehicles, standards for road safety and promotion of new vehicle technology.
5. Protection of Good Samaritan
The bill incorporates Good Samaritan guidelines in order to help road accident victims. The Bill defines good samaritan as a person who provides emergency medical or non-medical assistance to a road accident victim and provides rules to prevent harassment of such a person.
Important Features of the Bill
• The Motor Vehicle (amendment) Bill 2019 amends the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 to tackle issues like regulation of taxi aggregators, third party insurance and road safety.
• This Bill seeks maximum accountability for third party insurance in case of a vehicle accident at Rs 10 lakh in case of death and Rs. 5 Lakh in case of grievous injury.
• This bill also defines guidelines for cabs that will be finalized by central government.
• Motor Vehicle (amendment) Bill promotes the digitalization of some specific services. For example services like – Issue of licenses or permits, application filing procedure, receipt of money (such as fines), and change of address.
• The Bill authorized state governments to ensure the electronic monitoring and enforcement of road safety on national highways, state highways, and urban roads.
• The Bill also modifies the compensation and insurance provisions in case of motor vehicle accidents.
Importance of the Bill
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said in Lok Sabha that more than 1.50 lakh people die and 5 lakh people injured annually in road accidents. The amendment Bill proposes to exclude a clause of the Motor Vehicle Act to decide how to maintain their registers for driving licenses, to centralize vehicle registration data and achieve standardization.
Reasons of road accidents in India
The Standing Committee on Transport had observed that the majority of accidents being caused due to driver’s fault may be erroneous. Other reasons for road accidents include fault of drivers of other vehicles, defect in condition of motor vehicle, fault of pedestrian, weather conditions, faulty road engineering, etc.
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