Tag: Road Safety

  • Madras High Court expresses concern over underage driving, urges action

    By PTI

    CHENNAI: Expressing concern over underage driving, the Madras High Court has directed the government to effectively implement the Motor Vehicles Act to prevent minors and underaged persons from driving motorised two-wheelers or four-wheelers.

    Justice S Kannammal hoped that the law enforcement agencies would find ways and means, so that there may not be any such recurrence of the adolescent getting entangled in untoward incidents of motor vehicle accidents and suffer silently.

    “This Court also takes judicial notice of the fact that juvenile driving is on the rise in our state (Tamil Nadu) and it is not encouraging.

    Innocent lives are being lost or impaired at a young age, much to the chagrin of the lawmakers and the society as a whole,” the judge said.

    “Instances are galore that teenage boys indulge in bike racing without any impunity, with utter disregard to the safety of other road users. Therefore, it is high time that there should be an effective implementation of the Motor Vehicles Act to curb the menace of underage driving,” Justice Kannammal added.

    The court gave the direction and made the observation while rejecting a plea from Irfan, who drove a two-wheeler and met with a road accident and sustained serious injuries when he was a minor in September 2010.

    He moved the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal here, which in 2017 rejected his plea for Rs 7 lakh compensation from the New India Assurance Company.

    Hence, the present appeal.

    Turning down the plea, the judge said though the court sympathises with the appellant for the injuries sustained by him, it will not be a ground for it to recognise or to give a stamp of approval for the act done by him in riding the two-wheeler, while he was a minor.

    If the claim of the appellant is entertained, the court is afraid that it would open the floodgates and those who have no right to drive a vehicle would approach it and justify their act to be recognised resulting in a docket explosion.

    “Even though Motor Vehicles Act is a benevolent legislation, as contended by the counsel for the appellant, I do not think that it would ipso facto be applied in all the cases.

    Further, when there is a clear violation of policy conditions, the Insurance company cannot be burdened with the obligation of paying compensation amount to the appellant, when under law, he is not entitled to receive it.”

    “When the appellant himself is a tort-feasor, he is not entitled to maintain the claim petition at all. Therefore, this Court is of the view that there is no legal infirmity in the order of dismissal passed by the Tribunal,” the judge said.

  • Road safety month begins, free health test for auto, bus and truck drivers

    Road Safety Month was started on Monday to make people aware of traffic rules. Padmashree Dharampal Saini started the event. Various programs will be carried out throughout the month under this road safety month starting from yesterday. Traffic awareness will make people aware of the rules by visiting all the wards and markets of the city in the chariot. A traffic awareness campaign will be conducted in rural areas through rallies, street plays, sound amplifiers, pamphlets. Along with this, free health test and medicine distribution of auto, bus and truck drivers will be done by the Health Department. The delivery will be done by making fast-tag near the toll plaza at Ghatlonhoga, National Highway. Traffic in-charge Kaushlesh Dewangan said that this time the road safety fortnight will be run throughout the month, this program has been started from Monday. The program has been started in the presence of Jaichand Jain, Anil Lukkad, Additional SP OP Sharm and Police Department officials and employees. About 40 people were distributed free traffic help cards on Monday. After making this card, the drivers will not need to have separate car papers, insurance papers license. This card will contain all the details of the driver’s feed. Along with this, people will be motivated to follow traffic rules, do not drink alcohol and drive, two-wheelers wearing helmets through street plays.