manoj

THE UNION government has come up with a novel solution to bring down accident rates on national highways — an amendment to Motor Vehicle Act, 1989, under which heavy vehicle drivers must have a minimum qualification of Class 8 in any medium of education to get a licence.

Deputy Regional Transport Officer Jeevan Bansod told the move will make it mandatory for all heavy vehicle drivers to have a minimum knowledge of traffic rules and regulations, and the ability to read signboards.

"This is expected to re duce the number of accidents," Bansod said.

The amendment was proposed on September 21, 2006, after which the government had given a deadline of two months inviting suggestions and objections from citizens.

"We are expecting the decision any moment," Bansod said.

There are 6 lakh heavy vehicles in Maharashtra and 30 lakh in India. The decision is expected to bring about major changes as educational qualifications have never been the criteria for drivers of any vehicle.

According to an official from the Regional Transport Authority, who did not want to be named, nearly 90,000 people are killed, while about 5 lakh sustain injuries every year in highway accidents.

The amendment will, however, apply only to drivers applying for a licence for the first time, not those renewing their licences.

In another attempt to bring down the number of accidents, the Pune RTO has made it mandatory for all drivers of heavy vehicles to at tend a one-day train ing camp at Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT).

In fact, any heavy vehicle driver in Pune who wants to get his licence renewed must first produce the CIRT certificate.

Killer Roads

Driver unions, however, have opposed the move.

“There is already a shortage of drivers and if education is made compulsory, most of the heavy vehicles in the country will come to a standstill. The government must first give free education till Class 8 before taking such a decision,” said Mohinder Singh Ghura, general secretary of Maharashtra Heavy Goods Vehicle Owners Association.

“The increasing number of accidents is not due to illiteracy, but bad roads and lack of amenities on highways. According to Section 135 of the Motor Vehicles Act, it is mandatory to provide amenities at regular intervals for drivers to rest. Not a single highway in Maharashtra has such facilities,” he added.

Source: http://epaper.hindustantimes.com (Mumbai Edition)
Date Of Publish: 04-Jan-07

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priyanka

It is good that our traffic authorities are looking for literate drivers for heavy vehicles but what about those literate drivers who drive their cars or any other vehicles on city roads rashly?