Indian and International experts came together to applaud
the progress the government of India has made in improving road safety and
collaborate on ideas for the best way forward, based on lessons learned from
around the world following the monumental passage of the Motor Vehicles
Amendment Bill 2017 in Lok Sabha in the April session of Parliament.
During the Round Table discussion held in Mumbai,
international experts lauded the Government’s commitment to passage of strong
road safety legislation in the Parliament, while encouraging continued efforts
towards passage and implementation of the Bill. Kelly Larson, Program Director
at Bloomberg Philanthropies, said, “The passage of the Motor Vehicles
(Amendment) Bill in Lok Sabha is a big step forward for road safety in India.
The international road safety community congratulates the Government and calls
for immediate passage of this life saving bill in Rajya Sabha.”
The participants universally agreed that the Bill represents
a significant accomplishment towards safer Indian roads across various aspects
of road safety, while also highlighting specific policy gaps that still needed
to be addressed to bring it in line with international best practices. The CEO
of the Global Road Safety Partnership, David Cliff, stated, “The Global Road
Safety Partnership applauds the passage of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill
by the Lok Sabha and hopes that the Rajya Sabha will also pass the Bill in the
next session of the Parliament. The Bill reflects significant improvements
to the provisions of road safety in the existing law. Strengthening the
provisions for regulating road users’ behaviors will contribute to the
reduction of road traffic deaths and injuries in India.”
Members of the international community in attendance also
commended the Indian government’s innovation in addressing the problem of road
traffic injuries and fatalities. “It is very encouraging to see the Indian
Government apply UN crash test standards to new models in October this year and
all cars in production by October 2018. This is a huge step forward in
passenger car safety in India. It is impressive also to see the Government
mandating anti-lock brakes in motorcycles. More progress is needed and we hope
that India will now plan to make electronic stability control mandatory for new
cars, buses and lorries by 2020,” said Jess Truong, Programmes Director &
Asia Pacific Coordinator at Global New Car Assessment Programme.
Global Road Safety Lead, Soames Job of the World Bank also
recognized the government’s ownership and multi-sectoral approach to the safety
of its citizens on the road, adding, “The World Bank believes that the passing
of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2016 by the Lok Sabha is an important
step towards addressing the enormous challenge of the road safety being faced
by India. The effort from the government has been enormous. In order to achieve
the intended outcomes of this effort to reduce fatalities on Indian roads, the
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and State Governments need to
develop a joint strategy and implement a time bound action plan.”
Given that Indian roads witness over 5 lakh road accidents
each year resulting in 1.46 lakh fatalities, The Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill
2017 is an important step towards strengthening the legal framework for
improving road safety in India. In addition to the staggering loss of life and
enormous trauma for injury victims and their families, road accidents also
result in an estimated 3% loss in the GDP. The Bill closes major gaps in the
legislative framework that governs road safety in the country by amending the
28-year-old Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (MVA). The next step in the legislative
process is passage of the amended Bill in the Rajya Sabha during the upcoming
August session. As a signatory to the Brasilia Declaration, this is also a huge
step forward for India in working towards its commitments to halving the
injuries and fatalities in India by 2020.
The roundtable was jointly organized by the Road Safety Network
consisting of organizations working on road safety, and committed to continued
partnership with the government in the implementation phase.
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