Laws, Down The Road

The latest amendment to the Motor Vehicle Act is a definite step forward, but needs a much-informed introspection to make aspired progress on road safety.

- Dhiyanesh Ravichandran

The suspicious road accident involving the Unnao rape survivor in UP recently became a chilling reminder that road deaths are a real monster. An unfortunate surprise for all of us, because the incident shows how lax the road laws are in not dealing with not just ‘accidents’, but even more terribly on attempting premeditated murder in guise of a road crash.

The incident got widespread media attention right when the Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill 2019 was getting passed in the parliament. The bill, which is likely to become an act when this column goes to print, has been lauded as the most positive step in the right direction towards enhancing road safety in India, although all media reports limited themselves only to the deliberation on hefty fines for a variety of offences.