The New Road Safety and Transport Bill 2014 worries people with Fine up to RS.3 lakh

The new Road Safety and Transport bill 2014 draft is ready to be introduced in the parliament. The Draft has been structured with a view to provide safe, efficient, cost effective and faster transport within the country. The new bill is forged with special view on penalties as the older provision for penalties in Motor Vehicles Act 1988 was proved ineffective. The proposed measures however has many of the stake holders worried. Draft has provisions for fine up to Rs.5 lakh along with imprisonment for faulty manufacturing design, also cancellation of licenses in case of rash and negligent driving. Golden hour policy which provides for immediate treatment for accident victims is one the landmarks within the Bill.



The bill was put forward on Saturday by Road transport and Highway ministry for suggestions from various stakeholders. This draft also provides for a graded point system on imposing fines. There are categories like first offense, second offense and third offense in which the first two includes fine and imprisonment whereas the third one will result in the cancellation of license. Highest of fines listed is Rs.3 lakh if the accident involves death of a child. Bill aims to bring down accidents by 2 lakh within next five years. Currently India reports around 5 lakh road accidents with a death toll of around 1.4 lakh per year.



The Bill may produce more than 10 lakh job opportunities with the increased investments in transport sector. It proposes the creation of an independent agency the Motor Vehicle Regulation and Road safety Authority of India. Single window automated driving licenses with bio metric regulations are also being recommended in order to avoid duplication of licenses. This bill is likely to decrease the role played by regional transport offices (RTO) in the whole transport and road safety sections. Other recommended features include unified vehicle registration, intelligent speed adaptation, eye drowsiness detectors, green box monitoring etc.

This bill has been drafted by incorporating the best elements of traffic practices in six advanced nations such as Canada, US, Japan, Germany, Singapore and the UK. It is expected to be presented in parliament during the winter session.