Road Transport and Safety Bill, 2014

In the afternoon, I was browsing through the March 1, 2015 edition of ‘The Week’ magazine, as its cover caption and photo caught my eye. The photo was of a handsome, rich young man standing in front of his Ferrari, just next to the cover caption – “Rash, Brash Indians”.

It is the order of the day nowadays and most of the citizens drive in a rash and negligent manner, swerving their vehicles, obstructing traffic and honking endlessly when there is a huge traffic jam at the front. It is as if the driver of the respective vehicles own the public road and right of way, as compared to the others. This often leads to accidents and needless, endless trips to the doctor and the court of law, and not to mention, police stations, in case of grievous injuries and/or death due to road accidents.

These are fit cases of road rage.

Coming back to the caption which caught my eye, it was a case of rage, no doubt, but not road rage. It was a case of culpable homicide, wherein the young man had wantonly broken the bones and muscles of the security guard with his Ferrari in a fit of rage, and mind you this was not because of any traffic jam, or rash and negligent driving, etc. This is was because the security guard was a wee bit late in opening the gates for the “gentleman” to get into his apartment building. The security guard is no more, but what about the man behind the wheels? He is behind the bars.

This is a fit case of rage, of ego mingling with intoxicants, and the belief that an aura surrounds rich, influential people.

This is a case of offence under the Indian Penal Code academically……… but includes the use of a motor vehicle for committing the offence………could this be termed as rash and negligent driving? Does it come under IPC or Motor Vehicles Act, or both? It is a public space no doubt, but it is also the entrance to a private housing society. A little confusion here and there makes for loopholes in law.

A well-known member of legal fraternity has been quoted in the magazine as saying that training is a must for the investigation and handling of such cases, as well as extensive use of technology must be allowed, instead of manual descriptions and investigations. He says that this will help to fix the responsibility as to whether the accident was caused wantonly, since the drivers of the vehicles face punishment under the Section 304A of Indian Penal Code for rash and negligent driving. Further, the investigations could be conducted at a much faster pace and more accurately. The defence put forth by the legal luminary is that the drivers do not leave their homes with the intention to cause such accidents, it may happen due to technical failures of the vehicles driven by them. Hence technology could be used to determine the cause and the effect.

Great thought! I would say, and so does the government.

The magazine mentions about an upcoming Bill (Road Transport and Safety Bill, 2014 to address such issues and also appointment of an appropriate authority (Motor Vehicle Regulation and Road Safety Authority of India).

The draft of the Bill has been released and it is in the offing. This Bill introduces news angles to the existing base of offences and punishments, I presume.

Now, it’s a matter of wait and watch……. India has so many legislations and Bodies to regulate and implement such legislations, and there is yet another in the offing.

It needs to be seen how the new Bill if transformed into an Act would help usher in changes and better handling of motor vehicle accidents and road safety.

All things said and done, the best solution would be to be self-righteous, self-conscious about our own actions and reactions, and maybe follow a dictum or two laid down by our great ancestors…… the saints……….., about the need for patience. Self-regulation is the best regulation.

Best Wishes to the legislation and the lawmakers!