Prime Minister’s remarks hold hope for change
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's suggestion of cashless treatment to victims of road accidents, in the first 50 hours has the potential, when implemented, to save several lives and bring relief to thousands of vulnerable folks. It should be put into action at the earliest. Also, if the pilot projects, proposed in Gurgaon, Jaipur and Vadodara, are successful, then the initiative should be quickly scaled up. Currently, the project is planned only for accidents on national highways — it should be extended to State highways as well. In the immediate aftermath of a road accident, the biggest roadblock to accessing medical care is the lack of immediate access to money.
This makes it difficult for victims to get treatment, and leads to loss of lives. Cashless treatment for the first 50 hours will free the victims (and their friends and family) from such worries right after the accident and also give them the time to put together additional resources. The provision of cashless treatment should also encourage passers-by to help — by taking the victims to a hospital etc. Currently, passers-by are reluctant to do their bit because they worry that they'll have to cough up the initial amount of money needed to admit a patient to the hospital or be caught in legal tangles. The Prime Minister's suggestion, after he spoke of a recent incident when a young man bled to death on the road in Delhi with nobody coming to his aid, can make a real difference on the ground. But any suggestion or initiative is only as good as its execution.
In this case, it seems like the cashless provision will be operationalised through the Road Safety and Transport Bill, 2014, which, if passed by Parliament, will replace the existing Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. The Bill was put together after the BJP-led NDA Government lost a Union Minister in a road accident, days after being sworn into office in 2014. More than a year later, the proposed Bill has lost much of its teeth. It was supposed to help overhaul the transport sector, introduce new regulatory institutions and set greater penalties for violation of traffic rules. Now, many of the original provisions have been watered down. But the Prime Minister’s remarks give hope that we will have a tough law.
Strong laws are, of course, necessary to improve road safety but equally important is public support. Here again, the Prime Minister's emphasis on public awareness and the need to inculcate road discipline is important. Road safety is a multi-faceted issue, and all stakeholders, from the pedestrian to the policymaker to the road engineer, have to contribute equally. Indeed, it will be helpful if the Prime Minister urged automobile manufacturers to get on-board and improve the safety standards of their products. There are many budget vehicles on Indian roads that do not meet international standards (though they are in compliance with Indian laws). The common assumption is that safety features (air bags, seat-belts etc) are a luxury in India. This needs to change.