Don’t take the foot off the pedal
A week after the amended Motor Vehicle Act came into effect, an angry mob went after the police in Odisha’s capital Bhubaneswar in protest against the hefty fines imposed for traffic violations. The incident appears to have put the state administration on the back foot, prompting it to reconsider the enforcement strategy. The state agencies which were gung-ho after levying substantial fines on violators have since softened their approach sensing the strong resentment that led to a law and order situation.
There is also this theory that the BJD government in the state is unwilling to risk annoying its voters, as the urban polls are not too far. This is where the stated objective of Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 could lose its plot despite the general support for enforcement of the law which has brought about sanity on the roads. Change is always greeted with resistance. That’s human nature but it must not be reason for the government to yield ground in a good cause.
In India, the law is barely respected. It’s either feared or flouted. The refurbished MV Act has come up with heavy fines simply because it demands to be taken seriously as there is too much human as well as economic resources at risk. The country records about 5 lakh road mishaps every year. Over 1.5 lakh people pay with their lives while another 3 lakh end up with debilitating physical conditions. Thousands of families go into debts footing medical bills arising out of the road fatalities and injuries.
Odisha alone registered 5,313 road accident fatalities last year. This is not the time to take the foot off the pedal. On the contrary, there is a strong need to start a campaign and educate people about the Act while plugging loopholes through simultaneous reforms. At the same time, the state government must push enforcement with a sustained energy. Much of the resistance to enforcement comes from the very fact that every new law loses steam after the initial phase of implementation. This must not happen with the new Act.