Hit-and-run cases claim 50,000 lives in 3 years on Indian roads

The court verdict today in the Salman Khan accident has created a news frenzy across all media. It also ignites discussion around the topic of drunk driving.  The court that convicted the Bollywood actor held that he was driving under the influence of alcohol. Drinking and driving is one of the biggest causes of deaths on Indian roads. According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 10 lakh people have lost their lives on Indian roads over the past decade. Of this number, 50,000 have been hit-and-run cases in the past 3 years.

Piyush Tewari, chairman and CEO of SaveLIFE Foundation, an advocacy group focused on improving road safety and emergency medical care across India, says the judiciary should fast track "thousands of other such cases pending in our courts" and to the Parliament "to strengthen laws around drunk-driving". The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is currently working on revising the existing Motor Vehicle Act that Union minister Nitin Gadkari says is archaic. The first draft of the Bill was released on 13 September 2014 followed by three more versions till date. 

Tewari points out that while Salman Khan was charged under the stringent IPC Section 304 Part II, which provides for imprisonment up to 10 years, in many other cases outside the media glare those guilty continue to be charged under IPC 304 Part A, where the maximum imprisonment is two years for causing death. 

"Standardisation of road crash investigation, strengthening of the law around drink driving and its proper enforcement are the only way to ensure justice for the largely poor victims of such grievous offences," says Tewari.

It will be clear over the next few months how much stronger the law becomes to arrest and reduce the number of road fatalities in India. It is to be noted that today's court verdict comes in the middle of the UN Global Road Safety Week. This year is also the mid-point of the UN Decade of Action for Road safety (2011-2020).