India's Road Safety: Will New Legal Protections Encourage More to Help Accident Victims?

As reported in the TOI on Oct 30th, 2014, the Supreme Court on the 29th of October has asked the government to issue an order within three months to insulate from legal and procedural hassles those who come to the aid of road-accident victims—this is welcome news.

India's Road Safety Concerns

India has the dubious distinction of having the highest number of road fatalities in the world. Further, nearly 20 lakh people were injured in road accidents. Fear of harassment at the hands of the police and the slow pace of the judicial system often discourages witnesses from reporting accidents and taking victims to the hospital. There is no provision in the law to insulate such people from the prolonged legal formalities. This all results in accident victims not getting medical assistance within the golden hour—a major cause of fatalities.

We are sure that with this order, good citizens will be encouraged to rush the victims to the nearest hospital without the fear of being embroiled in long legal proceedings.

Thank you for bringing up the issue in this thread. As you mentioned, the rate of road accidents is higher in India compared to global statistics. The legislation and enforcement of laws are very poor in India. Victims have to wait for years to receive justice from the court or tribunals. As you correctly pointed out, our citizens are also afraid of the police or investigating officers when it comes to sharing facts about road accidents as eyewitnesses. There are very few examples of people coming forward to help victims in need of medical assistance at the scene, leading to many unnecessary deaths.

Legal Framework and Challenges

All motor vehicle road accidents are covered under IPC sec.279 for rash and negligent driving, regardless of the accident type, including fatal incidents. Due to the lack of eyewitnesses, many criminal cases result in the accused being acquitted without punishment, leading to the closure of the criminal case. In terms of tribunals, victims or their families seeking compensation often face delays of years, causing some to lose interest in pursuing compensation.

Let us wait and see the implications of the Supreme Court Order.

Regards,
Adoni Suguresh
Labour Laws Consultant