INTRODUCTION
India as we all know is one of the world’s most populated countries, and a large portion of this population is working in nature, making all the factors associated with it important. Transportation is one of these important factors. As we all know, India is still a developing nation. Some cities and regions lack railways and airways, making roadways a major mode of transportation. Road transport is easy, affordable and convenient compared to other modes of transportation making it one of the most preferred modes of transport. But compared to its population India has less amount of land which results in reducing the proportion of area for road construction. Besides this, the number of people travelling through roadways is too high. All these factors make road transport in India risky and increase the chance of accidents. Road accidents are one of the major causes of death in India. Hence legislation related to road transportation becomes very significant.
‘The Motor Vehicles Act, of 1988’[1] was enforced in January 1989 by the ‘Ministry of Road Transport and Highways’ to regulate motor vehicles used for transport. This act contains all the required provisions, procedures, warnings and consequences for disobedience of traffic rules related to motor vehicles and transportation.
‘THE MOTOR VEHICLE ACT, 1988’
This act contains 14 chapters each containing required measures for smooth and safe transportation. For example, Chapter 2 of this act deals with the licensing of the driver of the motor vehicle which gives the driver to operate a registered vehicle in a public place.[2] According to section 3 of this act, no person shall drive a motor vehicle unless authorized by an appropriate authority in the form of a driving license.[3] Section 4 of this act states the age limit as 18 years which means any person below the age of 18 shall not drive any kind of motor vehicle in a public place.[4] Disobedience of these two sections would result in punishment as mentioned in section 181 of this act.[5] Then there is section 56 which talks about the certificate of fitness of the motor vehicle which deals with the examination of the condition of the vehicle used for transportation.[6]
Then there is Chapter 8 of this act which contains control of traffic.[7] Where Section 112 deals with provisions associated with the determination of speed limits.[8] Anyone who exceeds the maximum speed limit determined as per this section will face the consequences mentioned under section 183 of this act.[9] Then there is section 128 which talks about the safety measures for drivers and pillion riders. It states that no two-wheeler motor vehicle driver shall carry more than one person in addition to self.[10] Then Section 129 states the necessity of wearing protective headgear.[11]
Then comes Chapter 13 which contains all the offenses that can be committed by the drivers and the penalties that are to be paid as a consequence of disobedience.[12] Section 180 here deals with the punishment given for allowing unauthorized persons to drive in public places.[13] Then section 184 contains penalties to be paid in case of dangerous driving in the context of speed and manner.[14] Then comes one of the major offences committed by a large number of drivers that are driving while in the effect of intoxication for this there is Section 185 which contains punishment for the offence of ‘Drink and Drive’.[15]
An amendment of 2019 which came into effect in September of 2020 brought changes in compensation related to ‘Hit and Run’ cases. Besides this, it made certain amendments for the safety of children and pedestrians. Then it contains provisions and amendments related to dangerous driving, faulty design of roads, juvenile offences, revising fines and many more. [16]
There are many more such offences and mistakes that put the life of the driver and people around in danger. It is important to comply with all the provisions mentioned in this act to avoid mishaps. The motive of this act is to prevent misfortunes. But the reality is not quite what was expected.
STATISTICS OF ROAD ACCIDENTS IN INDIA
In the year 2022, India reported 4,61,312 accidents where 1,68,491 lives were lost and 4,43,366 people were left injured. The amount of road accidents has increased by 11.9% since 2021 and the fatality rate has also increased by 9.4%. On average 1,264 accidents and 462 deaths per day were the statistics of India as per the report of 2022 published by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. In the context of the world, India stands at 4th rank in road injury accidents and 1st rank in terms of persons killed in road accidents in the year 2022.
Out of the total accidents that took place in the year 2022, 33.8% were fatal accidents that claimed the lives of people and 31.1% were grievous injury accidents causing serious damage to the people involved. The rate of fatal accidents has been gradually increasing since 2018 but it showed a small drop in 2022 which is a good sign. Among all the fatal accidents, 18.1% of people lost their lives in ‘Hit and Run’ type of collisions and 15.7% of the people lost their lives in ‘Head Collisions’. These are the two major types of collisions that cover almost 34% of the total number of people killed in road accidents. All these accidents have certain reasons that cause this mishap hence it is very important to identify, understand and prevent these causes to avoid further misfortunes.
MAJOR CAUSES OF ROAD ACCIDENTS IN INDIA
Usually, accidents occur because of three reasons human error, the condition of the surroundings and the functioning state of the vehicle. Human error is avoidable to a certain extent and as a result, taking measures for it might affect the number of accidents in a good way. Violation of traffic rules is one of the major human errors that has a large share in the total number of accidents and fatality that takes place.
Out of all causes, over-speeding is one of the major causes of accidents and death in India. 72.3% of total accidents that took place in the year 2022 were accidents by over-speeding claiming 1,19,904 lives. There has been a 12.8% increase in the rate of cases of ‘Hit and Run’ in 2022 compared to 2021. Then comes in line drunk and driver (alcohol or drugs), driving on the wrong side of the road, driving while using a mobile phone, etc. A large number of fatalities or grievous injuries happened because of the non-use of safety gear like helmets and seat belts. A total of 50,029 lives have been lost due to the non-use of helmets and 16,715 because of the non-use of seat belts in the year 2022.
CONCLUSION
We have seen a constant increase in the number of road accidents from 2005 till 2015 and after that, we experienced a gradual drop up until 2020 when COVID came but after that India again experienced an increase in this rate. Though as compared to the decade from 2005 to 2015 the current numbers are low but still 4,61,312 is a very huge number to deal with. The ‘Motor Vehicle Act, of 1988’ contains all the precautions that can prevent these numbers from getting any higher and it’s constantly developing as per the contemporary situations.[17] Hence it is high time now for the government and the people to understand the degree of this problem. A strict implementation of rules and regulations might affect these numbers. Along with this, a driver must understand their role and the drastic consequences of their negligence and mistakes.
People need to understand that though ‘Time is Money’ and it is essential no doubt but is not more important than human life.
Author(s) Name: Riya Vinay Doshi (Savitribai Phule Pune University)
Reference(s):
[1] The Motor Vehicle Act 1988
[2] The Motor Vehicle Act 1988, chapter II
[3] The Motor Vehicle Act 1988, s 3
[4] The Motor Vehicle Act 1988, s 4
[5] The Motor Vehicle Act 1988, s 181
[6] The Motor Vehicle Act 1988, s 56
[7] The Motor Vehicle Act 1988, chapter VIII
[8] The Motor Vehicle Act 1988, s 112
[9] The Motor Vehicle Act 1988, s 183
[10] The Motor Vehicle Act 1988, s 128
[11] The Motor Vehicle Act 1988, s 129
[12] The Motor Vehicle Act 1988, chapter XIII
[13] The Motor Vehicle Act 1988, s 180
[14] The Motor Vehicle Act 1988, s 184
[15] The Motor Vehicle Act 1988, s 185
[16] Ishita, ‘Policy Analysis on The Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act, 2019’ (Legal Service India) <https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-9112-policy-analysis-on-the-motor-vehicles-amendment-act-2019.html> accessed 25 March 2024
[17]‘Road Accidents in India 2022’, Ministry of Road Transports and Highways <https://morth.nic.in/sites/default/files/RA_2022_30_Oct.pdf>
