25 directions for ensuring Road Safety passed: SC

While hearing a PIL on road safety in India, the Supreme Court has passed a slew of directions. The Union Territories and States, which have not formed road safety policies, were requested to formulate the same by January 2018. It has also directed all States and Union Territories to prepare a “Road Safety Action Plan” by the end of March 2018.

SC’s Two-Judge Bench comprising of Justice Madan Lokur and Justice Deepak Gupta passed the order in a petition filed by S Rajaseekaran who is an orthopedic surgeon from Coimbatore. Nearly 90 percent of the deaths in road accidents are due to lack of proper implementation of safety rules, as argued by the petitioner.

As per the report by the Ministry of road transport and Highways published on September 2017, over an analysis, titled “Road Accidents in India-2016” shows that a total number of 4,80,652 road accidents took place in the country in the year 2016, of which, 1,50,785 accidents claimed life and 4,94,624 accidents left persons with severe injuries.

The report also logs that in most cases the drivers’ fault is the primordial factor responsible for causing deaths, accidents and injuries.

The Supreme Court also agrees to the statistics, which can be noted in the observation which reads as-“the number of deaths due to road accidents in the country was said to be over 100,000 in a year, which translates to about one death every three minutes.”

The Court has inspected all documents, during the course of arguments in the instant case, all the data and reports on road safety and accidents and deaths, which have occurred over the years. The petitioner has also relied on the data published by the Ministry of road transport and Highways for the year 2010.

The Court stresses upon setting up of a District road committee to review and take coercive steps on road safety issues, to improve the road conditions, carrying road safety audits, setting up of emergency medical units in each district and to ensure that proper safety measures such as air bags and abs in vehicles including two wheelers.

The matter is up for further hearing on February 7, 2018.