The need to walk the talk on traffic violations
Last week, when the Bhubaneswar police let off a woman with a Rs 500 penalty for driving while intoxicated, the state government quietly sent in a note of caution against such acts of leniency. Without mincing its words, the Commerce and Transport Department said the police has not been vested with the authority of compounding in such cases and that it must instead act against her. As per the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety, the police is required to prosecute the violator, impose a heavy fine and seek imprisonment as prescribed under Section 185 of Motor Vehicle Act for driving under influence of alcohol and drugs even for the first offence.
On the surface, such an action appears harsh but the state government must be lauded for walking the talk. In India, where laws are bent with impunity by the high and mighty, traffic rules become the first casualty. Just a glance at the statistics would suggest the heavy cost such road safety violations extract in the country. As per figures made available by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, between 2016 and 2019, the country reported at least 18.61 lakh road accidents that claimed a whopping 6.01 lakh lives. Among the many reasons attributed to the mishaps are overspeeding and drunk driving.
The Odisha context here is, after a decline in road mishaps after the Covid lockdowns and restrictions, the accident number shot up. In September-December 2020, the state reported 3,952 accidents that claimed close to 2,000 lives. There certainly is a reason for the Naveen Patnaik government to arrest the trend and it must go the whole hog. The apex court has been closely monitoring road safety laws as well as their implementation. It has, time and again, called for strong measures to reduce road accidents that inflict a huge socio-economic burden on the country.
In the last five years, the Centre has brought in several changes in existing legislations and introduced reforms. Yet there exists a strong resistance towards adherence to road safety protocols. It is imperative that all states take a leaf out of Odisha’s book and follow the Motor Vehicles Act in letter and spirit.