At the end of 2012, when I started my career in the field of transportation, one of my first assignments was the national road safety policy.
Numerous committees and subcommittees were created but nothing changed except for the number of road fatalities which grew from 80,000 to 1.4 lakh. The reason for this growth was clear – no one was responsible for road safety.
Currently, road transport and safety in India is governed by the Motor Vehicles Act 1988, which does not have much in terms of safety.
The new draft bill, that is now open for public comment, is not only a huge step up from the existing Act but also presents a paradigm shift from the mere governing the movement and operation of motor vehicles to actually safeguarding the interests of all road users as well as the economy.
Here are some key reasons why this new bill is great news for India:
The high priority given to road safety is proof enough that the bill is a deliberate effort to safeguard all road users. India has the highest number of road fatalities despite having relatively low levels of motorisation.
Most victims tend to be in the age group of 15 to 45 years, putting an immense burden on families who often lose their sole breadwinners.
The bill has proposed setting up on two independent regulators - the Vehicle Regulation and Road Safety Authority, and the Road Transport and Multi Modal Coordination Authority in addition to National Highway Protection Force.
For the first time, there will be an agency that will be responsible and accountable for road safety in the country.
By laying down clear and comprehensive laws towards protection of people’s lives, along with technologies for enforcement, this bill has a potential of saving many lives in the country.
This Act, if passed in its current form, will revolutionise the regulatory processes around vehicle certification, registration and licensing. By introducing a centralised system with an advanced case management system that would link all records related to a certain vehicle and/or driver – registration, insurance, past offences – would create an increased transparency in the system.
High-quality public transport along with supportive infrastructure that moves people safely, comfortably and cost-effectively and reduce congestion, has been given due regards in the bill.
Additionally, stricter penalties via an accumulative points-based system, mandatory third party insurance and detailed investigation reports, and a special motor accident fund will also contribute in simplifying the mobility on road.
By streamlining the process for permits, identifying and developing freight networks, and addressing the bottlenecks in the industry, this Act has the potential to reduce corruption and increase the efficiency of the freight logistics, making Indian manufacturers competitive on a global stage.
By introducing conformity certificates, ancillary industries like the spare parts market will not only thrive, but also make spare parts cheaper.
By encouraging new models, alternative fuel and retrofitting technology, Indian industry will focus on innovation and become globally competitive, and add more jobs in the economy.
Looming misconceptions
While this Bill has a lot of good to offer, there have also been some amount of negativity and misconceptions that have arisen.
Some of these misconceptions are as follows:
Currently, the state governments earn most of revenue through fuel sales and vehicle registration and hence the perception that this will discontinue.
But the bill clearly states that revenue from registrations and permits will continue to go to the sates and not to the Government of India.
State authorities will be able to issue state level permits, and the national agencies will issue the national level permits.
As per official data, Maharashtra has 20 lakh commercial vehicles and only 6 lakh have fitness certificates. The main reason is the lack of capacity. Private sector involvement has shown in various fields to be the way forward in bridging this capacity gap.
As in the case of Gujarat, the state has a successful PPP model for driver training, and has seen phenomenal results.
The new bill leaves it up to the states to decide the mechanism of implementation. They can either create a new agency, or authorise the existing RTOs for the same.
The overall vision of this bill is to provide a framework for safer, faster, cheaper and more inclusive movement of passengers and freight in the country which is a welcome step.
It has all the right ingredients but the success or failure of the bill is dependent on the proper implementation of it.
(The writer is Strategy Head – Urban Transport, EMBARQ India, New Delhi)
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