Drivers of bigger vehicles can't be always held responsible for accidents: Madras HC

MADURAI: Pointing out how in a majority of road accident death cases, the responsibility is fixed on the driver of the bigger vehicle even when it is the victim who violated the rules and contributed to the accident, the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court observed that such a mentality should be reviewed.

Justice K Murali Shankar made the observation earlier this month while partly allowing an appeal filed by the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC)- Pudukkottai division against a motor accident tribunal's order dated June 30, 2015 directing it to pay Rs 6.6 lakh as compensation to the victim's family.

The victim Govindaraju died in 2011 when he and three of his friends were travelling on a single two-wheeler in violation of the rules. They reportedly rammed against the TNSTC bus bumper while trying to overtake a lorry. Concluding that the accident had occurred partly due to the two-wheeler rider's difficulty in controlling the vehicle with three persons (including the deceased) riding pillion, the judge fixed 50 per cent contributory negligence on the accident victim and ordered that the transport corporation has to pay only half the compensation amount fixed by the tribunal.

The judge arrived at the conclusion after looking into both the logical and technical aspects involved in two-wheeler riding. He pointed out that two-wheelers are designed to carry only two adults. So for two or three persons to sit in the pillion, the rider has to necessarily move forward towards the vehicle's hand bar and sit in a cramped condition. This would in turn restrict the movement of the rider's hands and legs and he cannot have full control of the vehicle, the judge observed.

Further explaining how, irrespective of a vehicle's power and torque, a rider needs to give more acceleration to increase the pulling capacity of a two-wheeler when it carries more than two persons, the judge opined that this would affect or divert the rider's concentration on the road and contribute to accidents. Hence, there was contributory negligence on part of the victim and the general mindset that the bigger vehicles should be held responsible needs to be reviewed, he added.

Citing the recent statistics of road accidents in India and how Tamil Nadu tops the list in the number of accidents, the judge advised road users to drive with care and caution not to endanger themselves or others.