Assam stress on vehicles bill to check road mishaps

GUWAHATI: Ahead of a crucial meeting of the select committee appointed by Parliament to examine and suggest the passage of the motor vehicles (amendment) bill, 2017, the Consumers’ Legal Protection Forum (CLPF), a consumer rights body, has urged the committee to back the passage of the bill in the upcoming winter session. Earlier, the bill was sent to a joint select committee of the Rajya Sabha, after a number of parties expressed reservations about key clauses in the bill.
In a letter to the chairman of the committee on Wednesday, the CLPF demanded the formation of a stricter law to avoid casualties and injuries from road accidents.“If this bill is delayed further, it will put the lives of hundreds of citizens at risk. It is crucial that the bill gets adopted in the upcoming session,” said Ajoy Hazarika, secretary, CLPF.
Some of the key provisions of the bill stress on making the safety belt mandatory for children below 14 years with a penalty of Rs 1,000 and disqualification of the driving licence for not wearing helmets.
According to the latest ‘Road Accidents in India-2016’, Assam, Bihar, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh have seen an increase in road accident fatalities between 2-8% during this period. The age profile of accident victims for 2016 revealed that youths between 18 and 35 accounted for 46.3% of the victims.
“The country recorded 4,80,652 road accidents in which 1,50,785 people died and 4,94,624 people suffered injuries. Everyday, 1,317 accidents take place and 413 people get killed on roads. In Assam, deaths in road accidents have shown an increasing trend. In 2016, 2,572 people lost their lives while it was 2,397 in 2015,” CLPF said.
This week, the state witnessed major road accidents in which many, including two pilgrims from Chhattisgarh, were killed. Around 25 school students in Moran were injured.