New legislation welcome, but enforce rules
Indian roads have a problem, and that problem is not one of a lack of rules. The problem is simply a lack of willingness to enforce the rules. Coupled with the selfish attitude of our countrymen on the roads where they are more than happy to put their own lives and the lives of others at risk wilfully, even the recently passed amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act which cleared the lok Sabha recently, will not make much difference. As an example, look at the rampant and continuing use of two-wheelers to take three, sometimes even four, passengers. The lack of enforcement of something so clearly dangerous, has now made triple-riding an almost acceptable practice. India's roads are truly lawless, but not because there has been a lack of laws.
In that sense, the new amendments to fines and punishments under the act are welcome. Provisions that will hold both parents and juveniles responsible for underage driving is a definite positive. However, no provisions have been made for quick resolutions of traffic offences, particularly those where people have died. The case involving Siddhartha Sharma, a business executive mowed down by a juvenile driving a car way too fast, ought to have been an open and shut case, particularly with damning closed-circuit camera footage. Yet, nothing has happened. While the new provisions raise the quantum of fines five times over and also include a provision for the suspension of driving licences, nothing is being done on the tort law front where companies and Governments should be held to account for shoddy enforcement and road construction. There is also no provision for the creation of statutory traffic safety bodies and improved traffic management systems across the country.
There is an urgent need to address India’s traffic issues. Over 150,000 people died on Indian roads last year; this year, that number could cross 200,000. The rate of addition of vehicles is only growing as more and more Indians become economically empowered. In 2016, over three million motor vehicles and close to 15 million two-wheelers were sold in India. Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, recently admitted that over 30 per cent of driving licences issued in India were potentially fake. A simple fact is that many Indians believe that driving is a ‘right' rather than a privilege. The system for issuing driving licences is broken and rife with corruption with Indian driving tests being considered a global joke. Indian drivers are on the whole as skilled as Indian engineers. There are some very good ones, but a vast majority is mediocre or poor.
Yet, with public transportation systems in most Indian cities being stretched to the limit and roads remaining the fastest mode of intra- and inter-city travel in most cases, there are few options that many Indians have but to use the roads. Poor driving skills coupled with vehicles that are often unfit for use due to overloading, poor tyres and maintenance are a sure cocktail for disaster. There needs to be a surge in investment not just in building improved roadways but also on enforcement. If the Government sees it fit to control aspects of our lives, it should so clearly ensure that Indian roads become safer, and should eliminate the suicidal road habits of citizens.