Free medical cover for accident victims

he Centre is working on a plan for a cashless system whereby the government would bear all medical expenses during the first 48 hours of hospitalization of the victims of road accidents. With India leading the world in fatalities due to road accidents — 1.4 lakh killed in 2007 — this is a welcome move that may help bring down this figure. A senior official of road, transport and highways ministry said a high-powered committee on road safety and traffic management has proposed this plan at a recently held meeting in the capital. ‘‘The government could create an escrow account for this purpose so that hospitals treating such patients get the payment as soon as possible. A few public sector insurance companies and agencies like National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) could be stakeholders in this project. Centre could contribute to the fund,’’ he added. Officials say this will immensely benefit victims who have no relatives around to take care and pay for their medical expenses at the time of an accident. ‘‘For example, last year nearly 40 people from Orissa met with an accident on their way to Badrinath in Uttarakhand, who had no one around to help them. Since the first hour from the time of a road accident is considered to be the golden hour from the standpoint of medical emergency, our focus is to provide all possible medical assistance during this hour,’’ said an official. The road-accident victims usually undergo various legal hassles to get compensation from insurance companies, and in cases where the road-accident victim is poor, it is very difficult on his part to get proper and due medical care during the crucial period. The ministry would also identify premier institutes to conduct road-safety audit on all national highways and other roads in the country. The committee also decided that efforts would be made to introduce subjects on road safety in the school curriculum and involve the ministry of human resource development for this purpose. In another decision, the committee decided to review the driving license system envisaged in the Central Motor Vehicle Rules so as to ensure that driving licenses are granted only to the ‘genuine and credible’ applicants. Since human error has been identified as the single largest cause of road accidents, the committee unanimously agreed to adopt a stringent procedure for grant of driving licenses. ‘‘Presently, only heavy-vehicle drivers have to undergo mandatory drivers’ training, whereas all other drivers get training from informal driving licence school. We are at a regulatory framework so that only people with requisite training get the licences,’’ a source said.

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