Road Safety Bill leaves a lot to be desired

Overall, the Bill seeks to centralise regulatory institutions, in the light of duplication of driving licenses, multiple vehicle registrations, intra-State road crimes. But, centralisation is a definite route to corruption and cannot provide solutions to the varied road transport problems in India

Many people feel Indian laws on vehicles have to be amended, given the increase in road accidents, road rage and court cases. There have been demands for scrapping multiple taxation, toll charges and scrapping of toll ways. On other side, the government feels private investment is needed for expanding road network and infrastructure and also to maintain them. BJP has also promised changes in laws in its election manifesto. Against this background, the Road Transport and Safety Act, 2015, has been proposed. It is a massive 350 page omnibus bill document, amalgamating clauses, stipulations and rules, and covers many aspects of road transport. One wonders if there is a need for such changes under the Act, at all.

It proposes the following authorities: National Road Safety and Vehicle Regulation Authority; and National Road Transport and Multi-Modal Coordination Authority. The first is primarily tasked with vehicles, and the latter is about transport infrastructure, excluding roads. The bill also proposes a desirable National Unified Information System including for driving licences, motor vehicle registrations, insurance, vehicle data from manufacturers, permits, road crashes, offences and penalties. This information system requires structures and mechanisms that would generate and feed information, a challenge in itself.

Overall, the Bill seeks to centralise regulatory institutions, in the light of duplication of driving licenses, multiple vehicle registrations, intra-State road crimes. But, centralisation is a definite route to corruption and cannot provide solutions to the varied road transport problems in India. Unfortunately, there is also no clause in the Bill related to the Centre-State coordination, information sharing and inter-agency cooperation.

An expert committee in its report (February 2007) flagged political commitment, multiple agencies, efficient inter-agency and inter-departmental co-ordination as critical for ensuring road safety. These recommendations, and a decentralised model, were, however, not considered by the Bill. It is observed that no country has a single agency responsible for all road safety aspects. A big country like India cannot afford to have one agency.

This Committee has also recommended decriminalisation of road accidents, dedicated highway police, road safety fund and capacity building. People, doctors and hospitals hesitate to admit patients due to fear of legal hassles. The current Bill does not refer to medico-legal cases, at all. It merely proposes a service to respond to accidents on national highways, but nothing on other roads.

Insurance get its usual focused attention. Interestingly, probably in response to accidents involving hazardous material transport, the Bill proposes a policy of insurance under the Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991 (6 of 1991) for carrying dangerous or hazardous goods. In many cases, victims of ‘hazardous’ accidents are left high and dry. However, accountability is still an open question, when the hazardous accident destroys local natural resources and properties for years to come. The Bill refers to air and noise pollution, but does not include goals of reducing it. Nor there is any word on particulate matter (PM10), oil spillages, lead pollution and vehicle washings.

Technology and tools are likely to play a key role in the promised delivery of services. However, the Bill has not gone into legal issues related to technology usage. Can camera shots of registration numbers, of an offending vehicle, not traffic offence, be considered as an evidence? Would this Bill modernise the transport regulation system only in terms of tools, or does it include attitudes and change in regulatory methods?

A unified National Transport Authority is worrisome. Multiple taxation issue is not addressed. Corruption and harassment are big worries of commercial transport sector. This bill needs to be decoded for the freight sector, largely manned by illiterates. It should also ensure continuation and protection of single vehicle owners and small scale transporters.

Would their problems get solved with this Bill? This bill needs to be explained to them. It should ensure the continuation and protection of single vehicle owners and small-scale transporters. The united metropolitan authority has been a failure in all metros due to increasing vehicle density, parking spaces and inequity in road space usage. There is a need for nation-wide debate on this Bill.

(The writer is an expert in public policy and can be reached at [email protected])

By D Narasimha Reddy