NEW DELHI: Expressing frustration at rampant violation of traffic rules despite steep hike in fines, Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday wondered how many times or by how much can govt increase penalties to deter violators. He said there is also a need to induce behavioural change in road users.
“We are using technology for enforcement of traffic rules.We’ve increased fine for violations, but it’s not yielding results because people are not taking them seriously. How much fine can we increase? It’s a problem. This can be addressed by changing human behaviour with the involvement and cooperation of social and educational organisations,” Gadkari said while addressing the World Safety conference.
The govt amended Motor Vehicle Act in 2019 with provisions of high fines and penalties expecting this would prove as a deterrent. But these measures proved inadequate with violation of traffic and transport rules rising and the number of road crash fatalities actually increasing by around 6% from nearly 1.59 lakh in 2019 to 1.68 lakh in 2022.
The minister said enforcement alone cannot bring down crashes and fatalities, without focusing on changing road users behaviour by educating people and convincing them to follow road safety rules. On the rising number of two-wheeler riders’ deaths due to riders not wearing helmets, he said he is looking at urging vehicle manufacturers to offer helmets to buyers at a discount or reasonable rate. In 2022, 50,029 people lost their lives in crashes when they were not wearing helmets.
He flagged the problem of mixed traffic on Indian roads and lack of lane discipline. “We’re trying to train bus and truck drivers, and if they can maintain lane discipline, we can reduce accidents,” the minister said. He added that large-scale violation of lane driving is coming in the way of increasing the maximum speed limit on access-controlled highways.
“We are using technology for enforcement of traffic rules.We’ve increased fine for violations, but it’s not yielding results because people are not taking them seriously. How much fine can we increase? It’s a problem. This can be addressed by changing human behaviour with the involvement and cooperation of social and educational organisations,” Gadkari said while addressing the World Safety conference.
The govt amended Motor Vehicle Act in 2019 with provisions of high fines and penalties expecting this would prove as a deterrent. But these measures proved inadequate with violation of traffic and transport rules rising and the number of road crash fatalities actually increasing by around 6% from nearly 1.59 lakh in 2019 to 1.68 lakh in 2022.
The minister said enforcement alone cannot bring down crashes and fatalities, without focusing on changing road users behaviour by educating people and convincing them to follow road safety rules. On the rising number of two-wheeler riders’ deaths due to riders not wearing helmets, he said he is looking at urging vehicle manufacturers to offer helmets to buyers at a discount or reasonable rate. In 2022, 50,029 people lost their lives in crashes when they were not wearing helmets.
He flagged the problem of mixed traffic on Indian roads and lack of lane discipline. “We’re trying to train bus and truck drivers, and if they can maintain lane discipline, we can reduce accidents,” the minister said. He added that large-scale violation of lane driving is coming in the way of increasing the maximum speed limit on access-controlled highways.
Source Agencies
