Govt plans grade-based driving licence system to encourage responsible driving, curb accidents

To promote responsible driving and prevent road mishaps, the Government is planning to introduce a grade-based driving licence system with stricter provisions, including licence cancellation for certain traffic rule violations.

Every year, around 1.8 lakh people die across the country due to factors such as using a mobile phone while driving, over speeding, wrong-side driving and drunken driving, Union Minister for Road, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said.

People’s lives are extremely important, and the Government is taking various measures towards road safety, he said, addressing the National Conclave on Road Safety organised by industry body CII in the national Capital.The Government has already increased penalties for traffic violations, but the biggest issue is the enforcement, Gadkari said, adding that there is no fear or respect for the law.“We are bringing a graded point system in driving licences,” he said.

Explaining the concept, Gadkari said some points may be deducted for traffic offences. When all the points are deducted, the driving licence of the offender may be suspended for six months or even cancelled for repeat offences. The minister said, “We are going to launch the scheme soon.”

Road safety is one of the most important subjects for the country. Every year, India is witnessing 5 lakh accidents and 1.8 lakh deaths, Gadkari noted. He said 72 per cent of deaths are of people in the age bracket of 18-45 years, the number of accident victims below 18 years is 10,119, while deaths due to non-use of helmets are 54,122.Non-use of seat belt caused 14,466 deaths, while deaths due to over speeding were 1.2 lakh. Other major causes of death are wrong-side driving, drunken driving and usage of mobile phones.

The minister further urged the public to help the accident victims without worrying about treatment costs and legal formalities.He said the PM RAHAT (Road Accident Victim Hospitalisation and Assured Treatment) Scheme provides an emergency response system for accident victims.Under the scheme, a road accident victim on any category of road will be entitled to a cashless treatment of up to `1.5 lakh per victim, for a period of 7 days from the date of the accident.