<p>The Karnataka government has done well to begin taking steps towards enacting legislation protecting good Samaritans in road accidents from police harassment and lengthy hospital and court procedures. The proposed legislation can be expected to encourage more bystanders to help victims of road accidents, thus saving many lives. Hitherto, potential good Samaritans were deterred from helping accident victims as they often ended up being harassed for their good intentions and actions. Police would detain them for hours for questioning. Hospitals would hold them back until they paid for the patient’s treatment. They were expected to attend court as witnesses. Rather than get entangled in such messy situations, bystanders avoided helping accident victims. Countless victims were thus left on the road to die. The proposed Good Samaritan law could change that. Under this legislation, a bystander who helps an accident victim will not be required to reveal his identity to the police or spend long hours answering questions by the police. Neither can he be forced to become a witness. Freed from the fear of criminal or civil liability or of harassment of any sort, more bystanders are likely to rush accident victims to hospital. All other state governments should follow the Karnataka example, if they have not already done so.<br /><br />It was only last year that the Central government issued guidelines to make it easier for bystanders to come to the aid of accident victims. Subsequently, the Supreme Court made it mandatory for governments of all states and Union Territories to implement these guidelines. The Karnataka government has acted to take this further. By deciding on enacting legislation, it has made the guidelines enforceable. The proposed law makes clear the rights of the good Samaritan, the responsibilities of police and the standard operating procedures they must adopt, and the duties of hospitals in treating accident victims. Enacting strong legislation is the way to go as it will fix accountability and provide for punishment to those who violate the law.<br /><br />India has the largest number of road accidents and accident related fatalities in the world. One person dies every four minutes in a road accident in the country. It is said that fatalities could be halved if accident victims are rushed for treatment within an hour of the mishap. While Karnataka can be justifiably proud for being the first state in the country to put in place a Good Samaritan law, it must implement promised measures to save lives. The Mukhyamantri Santwana - Harish Scheme to provide immediate medical treatment to road accident victims is yet to take off, weeks after the announcement. Hospitals listed as service providers are clueless about the scheme as the government hasn’t issued them guidelines. Implementation is as important as enactment of strong laws.</p>
<p>The Karnataka government has done well to begin taking steps towards enacting legislation protecting good Samaritans in road accidents from police harassment and lengthy hospital and court procedures. The proposed legislation can be expected to encourage more bystanders to help victims of road accidents, thus saving many lives. Hitherto, potential good Samaritans were deterred from helping accident victims as they often ended up being harassed for their good intentions and actions. Police would detain them for hours for questioning. Hospitals would hold them back until they paid for the patient’s treatment. They were expected to attend court as witnesses. Rather than get entangled in such messy situations, bystanders avoided helping accident victims. Countless victims were thus left on the road to die. The proposed Good Samaritan law could change that. Under this legislation, a bystander who helps an accident victim will not be required to reveal his identity to the police or spend long hours answering questions by the police. Neither can he be forced to become a witness. Freed from the fear of criminal or civil liability or of harassment of any sort, more bystanders are likely to rush accident victims to hospital. All other state governments should follow the Karnataka example, if they have not already done so.<br /><br />It was only last year that the Central government issued guidelines to make it easier for bystanders to come to the aid of accident victims. Subsequently, the Supreme Court made it mandatory for governments of all states and Union Territories to implement these guidelines. The Karnataka government has acted to take this further. By deciding on enacting legislation, it has made the guidelines enforceable. The proposed law makes clear the rights of the good Samaritan, the responsibilities of police and the standard operating procedures they must adopt, and the duties of hospitals in treating accident victims. Enacting strong legislation is the way to go as it will fix accountability and provide for punishment to those who violate the law.<br /><br />India has the largest number of road accidents and accident related fatalities in the world. One person dies every four minutes in a road accident in the country. It is said that fatalities could be halved if accident victims are rushed for treatment within an hour of the mishap. While Karnataka can be justifiably proud for being the first state in the country to put in place a Good Samaritan law, it must implement promised measures to save lives. The Mukhyamantri Santwana - Harish Scheme to provide immediate medical treatment to road accident victims is yet to take off, weeks after the announcement. Hospitals listed as service providers are clueless about the scheme as the government hasn’t issued them guidelines. Implementation is as important as enactment of strong laws.</p>
