"Road Traffic Act" to replace Motor Vehicles Act- 1988, says Gadkari

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari today said that a new Road Traffic Act will be brought in the winter session of Parliament, which will be at par with international Acts in the Road Sector. Speaking at a workshop on Road Safety here, the Minister Said, the existing Motor Vehicles Act of 1988 has outlived its utility and in the fast changing traffic scenario, a holistic Act is needed. He said, the draft of the proposed Act is already reaching final stage and it will have features of the best practices of developed countries like USA, Canada, Singapore, Japan, Germany and the UK.

Shri Gadkari lamented that every year, one lakh 38 thousand people are killed in road accidents, the total social cost of which is estimated to be around Rs 1 Lakh Crore. Moreover, 63 % of the road crash deaths occur on National and State Highways. He said, the biggest problem faced in urban areas in addition to road safety is unprecedented growth of vehicles leading to traffic congestion and increasing road traffic violations.

The Minister said that due to lack of effective road engineering, faulty DPRs were made leading to increasing road accidents and fatalities. Calling for total transparency and zero tolerance for corruption, Shri Gadkari said there is need to fix accountability at the highest level for such large number of accidents in the country. He also laid stress on enforcement and education for achieving desired results on the ground. The Minister appreciated the role of Institute of Road Traffic Education towards capacity building of road traffic management based upon 25 years of their research.

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Tags : Civil Law

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Comments

9 years ago Mukesh

As per present situation pertaining to traffic and accidents caused, new policy has to be formed. New policy must improve and develop a mechanism to control the speed such as electronic speed detectors and machinery to control. Special policy about pedestrian on the road. Stringent rules to be framed and its implementation required. Now we are developing country must have adopted new technology from time to time. But unlikely dont want to develop and adopt new mechanism.

10 years ago awxavier

Yes, since 1988, the transport department hardly used valuable time for resolving, controlling, educatiing the society against ever increasing vehicle population. Transport dept is the executive body, never bothered for what happens around. Walk through major and subroads of any city. If you find the pedestrians priority if exists, it is proof of control. The fact is zero score. Staff value is far below zero. Slash benefits proportionately for their lapses, may be over 90%. This applies to police and traffic police. Same formulae applies to rest of the services too. We have one working executive, the efforts are spoiled by remaining 9 executives. Unwanted nine. If those 9 did the bear minimum task, we would have been placed far better than we are today. Trim and save the country by kicking out over 90% of existing staff upto the highest level of IAS, IRSW, IRS, IFS etc.

10 years ago N.K.Assumi

The Law should also try to curbed the menace of false MACT by legal mafia in the name of social engineering.The weakness in the Law should be identified and rectified immediately including the power of MACT.