Lok Sabha Question No. 6329 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-04-05
Subject: Compensation to Road Accident Victims
Ministry: ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
Asked by: KIRIT PREMJIBHAI SOLANKI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT & HIGHWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6329

ANSWERED  ON  5 th  APRIL, 2018

## COMPENSATION TO ROAD ACCIDENT  VICTIMS

6329.  DR.  KIRIT  P.  SOLANKI:

Will  the  Minister  of  ROAD TRANSPORT AND  HIGHWAYS

## सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार्ग मंत्री

be pleased to state:

- (a)  the total number of road accidents and loss of life therein during the last and the current year ;
- (b)  the details of the measures taken by the Government to address this issue; and
- (c)  whether the family of the vulnerable group of pedestrians who account for a large part of the road  accident  deaths  are  compensated  for  their  deaths  and  provided  any  assistance  by  the Government or the accused responsible for the accident and if so, the details  thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (SHRI  MANSUKH  L. MANDAVIYA)

- (a) As per the data received from police department of States/UTs, the number of road accidents and persons killed due to road accidents in the country during last two calendar years i.e 2015 and 2016 is as under:
- (b)    The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has taken a number of steps including long terms strategy to prevent road accidents and road accident fatalities as per details mentioned under: -
- 1) The  Government  has  approved  a  National  Road  Safety  Policy.    This  Policy  outlines  various policy  measures  such  as  promoting  awareness,  establishing  road  safety  information  data  base, encouraging safer road infrastructure including application of intelligent transport, enforcement of safety laws etc.
- 2) The  Government  has  constituted  the  National  Road  Safety  Council  as  the  apex  body  to  take policy decisions in matters of road safety.
- 3) The Ministry has constituted Group of Ministers of State Transport Ministers to examine the best practices of Transport and suggest issues to improve road safety.
- 4) Based  on  the  recommendation  of  Group  of  Minister,  the  Ministry  introduced  Motor  Vehicle (Amendment) Bill 2017 covering entire gamut of road safety.
- 5) The Bill contains the provision of creation of Motor Vehicle Accident Fund, implementation of Cashless Treatment Scheme during Golden Hour, setting up of a dedicated agency for road safety viz. National Road Safety and Traffic Management Board (NRSTMB), enhancement of penalty for traffic rule violations, etc. which have direct impact on road safety.
- 6) The Ministry has formulated a multi-pronged strategy to address the issue of road safety based on 4  'E's  viz.  Education,  Engineering  (both  of  roads  and  vehicles),  Enforcement  and  Emergency Care.
- 7) Road safety has been made an integral part of road design at planning stage.
- 8) Road Safety Audit of selected stretches of National Highways has been taken up.
- 9) The threshold for four laning of national highway has been reduced from 15,000 Passenger Car Units  (PCUs)  to  10,000  PCUs.  About  52,000  Km  of  stretches  of  State  Highways  has  been identified for conversion to national highways.
- 10) Setting up of model driving training institutes in States and refresher training to drivers of Heavy Motor Vehicle in the unorganized sector.
- 11) Advocacy/Publicity campaign on road safety through the electronic and print media.
- 12) Tightening of safety standards for vehicles like Seat Belts, anti-lock braking system etc.
- 13) High priority has been accorded to identification and rectification of black spots (accident prone spots) on national highways.
- 14) Guidelines for identification and rectification of black spots, carrying out road safety audits and preparation of road safety improvement proposals on NHs and also guidelines on implementation of road safety engineering measures on state roads under Central Road Fund (CRF) have been issued.
- 15) 789  black  spots  based  on  fatalities  in  2011,2012,2013  and  2014  calendars  years  have  been identified. So far 189 spots have already been rectified. Rectification measures at 256 spots have been  sanctioned  which  are  in  various  stages  of  implementation.  138  spots  are  on  State Government roads /  with other  agencies.  The  balance  206  spots  would  be  taken  separately  or would be rectified as part of ongoing projects.
- 16) As a measure of supplementing the efforts of States / UTs for minimizing the accident potential at the identified locations / stretches through engineering improvement on state roads, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways had taken a decision to sanction road safety works on state roads with an earmarked allocation of 10% of funds allocated to the state roads under Central Road Fund.
- 17) Ministry  has  delegated  powers  to  Regional  Officers  of  MORTH  for  technical  approval  to  the detailed  estimates  for  rectification  of  identified  Road  Accident  black  spots  for  expediting  the rectification process to ensure safety of road users.
- 18) Ministry had issued guidelines vide O.M. dated 14.1.2016 for taking up of Road Safety Audits on National Highways either as part of EPC/BOT projects or as stand-alone Road Safety Audits.
- 19) Guidelines for pedestrian facilities on National Highways for persons with disabilities have also been issued to all States / UTs.
- 20) In order to ensure safe and smooth flow of traffic, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has envisaged  a  plan  for  replacement  of  all  the  Level  Crossing  on  National  Highways  by  ROBs  / RUBs and replacement / widening / strengthening of weak and narrow bridges under a scheme Setu Bhartam. Under this programme, construction of 208 Level Crossings at an estimated cost of Rs. 20,800 Crore are included.
- 21) Two National Level Workshops and several Regional Training workshops in 11 states have been organized on Road Safety Engineering.
- 22) A  Certification  Course  for  Road  Safety  Auditors  has  been  commenced  in  Indian  Academy  of Highway Engineers (IAHE) and 42 Auditors are certified.
- 23) Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has constituted a District Road Safety Committee in each district of the country to promote awareness amongst road users under the chairmanship of Hon'ble Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) from the district.

|   Years | Total Number of road accidents in the country   | Total Number of persons killed in road accidents in the country   |
|---------|-------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------|
|    2015 | 5,01,423                                        | 1,46,133                                                          |
|    2016 | 4,80,652                                        | 1,50,785                                                          |

(c) The provisions relating to compensation for the road accident victims are uniform across the country and provided in the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. As per Section 165(1) of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, a State Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, constitute one or more Motor Accidents  Claims  Tribunals  for  such  area  as  may  be  specified  in  the  notification  for  the  purpose  of adjudicating upon claims for compensation in respect of accidents involving the death of, or bodily injury to,  persons  arising  out  of  the  use  of  motor  vehicles,  or  damages  to  any  property  of  the  third  party  so arising, or both. Sub-section (2) of Section 165 empowers the State Government to appoint such number of members as the State Government may think fit to appoint. Sub-section (3) of Section 165 empowers State Government to regulate distribution of business if there are two or more Claims Tribunals for an area. Thus, the matter regarding disposal of cases by Motor Accident Claims Tribunals comes under the jurisdiction of State Governments.   Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has inserted a provision in Motor  Vehicle  (Amendment)  Bill,  2017  which  inter-alia  envisages  the  creation  of  a  Motor  Vehicle Accident Fund.

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