Pass the Motor Vehicles Bill, Civil Society urges MPs

NEW DELHI: A coalition of road safety organizations and the victims of road accidents have urged the government to get the Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill passed in the Budget session of the Parliament beginning Monday.
The Bill with stricter and higher penalties for traffic rule violations has been pending in the Parliament for more than a year. Discussion on the Bill and its passage are included in the agenda of Rajya Sabha proceedings on Monday. Road Safety Network, a coalition of organisations pushing for the passage of the Bill have urged all parliamentarians to pass the law without any delay.

Road safety experts have called the passage of the Bill as key to improve the dismal road safety record in India. The Amendment Bill strengthens many provisions of the current law, which has proven ineffective in curbing high number of fatalities on roads everyday.

Road accident victims and survivors have appealed to the parliamentarians not to mix politics in this issue since it’s about saving lives on road.

Ashim Sanyal, chief operating officer of Consumer VOICE, said every crash leaves an indelible scar on the family and the community. “We brought together survivors of horrific road crashes and victims’ families to tell their tales, lest we forget that real flesh and blood people are losing their lives on our roads,” he added.

The coalition expressed concern that government’s inability to get the bill passed in the budget session might spell doom for the Bill due to upcoming elections. “Failure to get the MV Act amended will be a major blow to the cause of road safety in the country. India’s failure to meet its international commitment will be a big blot on the record of Nitin Gadkari, who has in the past made road safety a personal agenda,” the coalition said.