Workshop Recommendations

Following Recommendations were made by the Workshop:
Recommendation 1        Investigate Road Crashes Scientifically

To initiate road safety management initiatives in India, it is important to study the causes and consequences of such crashes which have resulted in large amount of road fatalities and serious injuries.

It is recommended that Police authorities must scientifically investigate all serious and fatal crashes so as to provide correct data of the causes and consequences of road accidents. All investigating officers must undergo special training in this aspect.

Recommendation 2            Create Political will at National and States Levels

Serious efforts must be made in the creation of a Political Will on State and National levels to make road safety a priority issue.

It is recommended that: In order that the Parliament is continuously appraised of the solution of Road Transport Safety and the process of legislation reforms is well supported, a Parliamentary Advisory Committee / Council should be formed in a similar manner as PACTS (The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety) of the United Kingdom. PACTS is an all party Parliamentary group and a registered charity which identifies and promotes research based solutions for reducing the number and severity of casualties in transport related accidents.

Recommendation 3      Amend the Motor Vehicles Act & Rules

Road Traffic Law contributes to reducing casualties by providing a framework for safe road use and laying down clear standards for driver and road behavior. Its existence also details driver and roads from breaching those standards.

To be effective as a way of presenting deaths and injuries, the law must be reasonable and appropriate and it must be communicated to and understood by all road users. The Motor Vehicles Act & Rules need to be amended and updated regularly and review should emphasize on the issues of simplification, effectiveness and acceptability of the Act. The Amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act & Rules particularly those dealing with Driver Licensing and Road safety are placed in Annexure 1.

Other basic recommendations with respect to legislation are as follows:

• The Rules of Road Regulations need immediate revision with reference to the needs
  of road safety and traffic conditions in the country.
• Government of India should make amendments to the law in appropriate time and on
  a regular basis to avoid State Governments who are then forced make such Rules
  (such as Mobile Phone Usage) which are unilateral and may not be uniform across
  the country.
• There is a need to spell the responsibility of non-motorised traffic in our road traffic
  laws.
• Fines should be increased to deter the driver from violation.
• Fee for obtaining a driver license should also be increased substantially.
• Police powers must be spelt out in the legislation especially for those
• Sections which are important for road safety enforcement.
• Law must include summary trial for serious accident cases.

Recommendation 4        Traffic Management Coordination

One of the major issues which need attention is the coordination amongst agencies who deal with traffic management and control. Traffic Management needs to be defined and the role and responsibilities of various concerned agencies must also be defined.

It is suggested that The Government of India consider legislating a Traffic Management Act in similar lines to the Traffic Management Act 2004 of the UK. The British Traffic Management Act makes a provision for the designation of officers and their duties, management of road etworks, regulating the carrying out of works and other activities in the streets, making provision for civil enforcement of traffic contravention etc.

Driver Training and Assessment deserves a total overhaul. To enable make driver training and testing more realistic it was recommended that

• The existing driver training schools should be supported with tools and
  systems of training.
• Third Party Schools for monitoring and evaluation of driver licenses should be
  considered, subject to evaluation and scrutiny of such institutions.
• There should be full transparency in procedure for testing and issuance of
  driver licenses.
• Drivers who are subjected to journeys in difficult terrain such as hills should
  receive specific training and certification thereof to drive in hilly areas.
• Eye tests should be compulsory for all drivers above the age of 40. To enable
  proper testing eye hospitals, clinics and organisations should be certified to
  issue such certificate of test.
• School children being given opportunity to learn driving and get licenses in
  their schools should be discouraged.
  
• Driving Instructors must be accorded a professional status and their eligibility
  criteria for qualifying as a driving instructor must be made more stringent and
  realistic. This should also apply to those officials in the Transport
  Departments who test and issue driver licenses.

Recommendation 5       Statutory Standardisation of Traffic Control Devices

Statutory Standardization of Traffic Control Devices is essential for driver training. The First Schedule of the Motor Vehicle Act 1988 displays the Mandatory Signs. Road signages have been updated by the Indian Road Congress in 2001 but the First Schedule has not been amended creating a major vacuum in road user education, driver training and installation of signage as per law. Incomplete or old signage in the schedule will cause serious void in driver training, and must be updated. In addition, there is no mention of Road Markings or Traffic Signals in the First schedule.

It is recommended that the Schedule should be amended with comprehensive signs and symbols, road markings and signals, and as required by Vienna Convention, the traffic control devices to be included / updated should conform to the requirements of the Convention. Traffic Signage, Road markings and signals should be uniformly used as per the recommendations of the IRC and such usage should also be enforced.

Recommendation 6      Moral and Social Responsibility

• Moral norms for Road Safety should be developed and inculcated at the National and
  subsequently at State levels.
  
• Corporate Social Responsibility should also be spelt for all organisations that benefit
  from the roads and their movement. These include the automobile, insurance, oil
  industries etc.

Recommendation 7       Smart Card for Driver Licensing

Smart Cards for driver licensing and vehicle registration are of prime importance for enforcement of road safety laws. It is recommended that compliance by all States and UT’s for issuance of such cards and updating computerized data for the past 10 years should not be compromised with. Central Government must make such investments to enable national sharing of such data.

Recommendation 8      Address Shortage in Transport/Police Departments

• It was felt that shortage of staff at transport and police departments had seriously affected the road safety operations. It was recommended that governments must consider filling up this shortage. In the Transport Departments the staff should commensurate with the demand for licensing and certification.

Recommendation 9      Interaction among Transport, Police Departments and Armed Forces

• There should be more interaction between the transport and police departments with
  the Military Police and Driver Training Departments in the Armed Forces for better
  coordination and sharing of technology in driver training and enforcement.

Recommendation 10            Invest 10 % of Project in Road Safety Investments

The International Workshop on Road Safety Investment in India held in New Delhi on February 18, 2008 (organised by IRTE and the Commission for Global Road Safety in association with the Department of Road Transport & Highways, Government of India ) recommended an approach to systematic investment on road safety, including driver training in India.

The workshop recommends setting aside 10 % of the cost of road infrastructure project budget (making and maintenance) for road safety management. Fines Collected by Traffic Police and Transport departments must be re invested for similar improvements and interventions as the violations for which fines were collected.

Concluding Remark

The workshop was well attended by diverse group of concern professionals and policy makers. The workshop achieved its objectives and reached a Jaipur declaration after intense deliberations and arrived at meaningful and serious recommendations for further considerations. Conference organizers thank the participants and other support staff who made this event in Jaipur a success. IRTE welcomes any comments or suggestions on the subject at seceratory@irte.com.

Recommendations to Amend the Motor Vehicles Laws in India

Amendment to Motor Vehicles Act & Rules in India
Need for Basic Qualifications for Driver Trainers and Assessors:

To improve the quality of driver training it is of paramount importance that those who are responsible for training of drivers should be themselves trained and certified. Such details of training and their certification should also be spelt under the provisions of law.

As per the CMVR 24:
The requirements for Instructors in Driving Schools and Establishments are;

• The applicant and staff working under him are of good moral character and
  are qualified to give driving instructions.
• The Applicant or any member of staff employed by him for imparting
  instructions possess the following qualifications:
• A minimum educational qualification of 10th standard,
• A minimum driving experience for 5 years in addition to a certificate in a
  course in motor mechanics, or any other higher qualification in mechanical
  engineering
• Thorough knowledge of traffic signs, specified in the Schedule of the act and
  the regulations made under Section 118,
• Ability to demonstrate and to explain the functions of different components,
  parts of vehicles
• Adequate knowledge of English or regional language.

However, there is a serious need to deliberate on these requirements.

• Are these sufficient or just a cosmetic requirement?
• Should not the Instructors be subjected to a formal assessment?
• It is not only the Instructors but also the Motor Licensing Officers who have
  the responsibility to assess before issuances of licenses have similar
  requirements?

Requirements, Tools and Systems for Training and Assessment:
Some of the equipments, apparatus and requirements which Driving Schools and Establishments must maintain are as follows;- As per CMVR 24 (vi),

• A black board
• Road plan board with model signals and charts
• Traffic signs chart
• Chart on automatic signals and signals given by traffic controllers where there
  are no automatic signals
• Driving instructions manual
• Books on automobile mechanism, road safety, traffic regulations, laws related
• to motor vehicles and related subjects.

Are these charts, instruction manuals, automatic signal charts available, and are
these standardized?

specified to remove ambiguity in training.
Standards which Licensing Authorities and Driving Schools are required to follow
must be adequately

Driving Tests at the Licensing Authority:
In most licensing authorities there is a heavy rush of applications for driver licenses, which it has made it difficult for Licensing officers to step out for conducting ‘test of competence to drive’ as specified in detail under the following Rule 15(2) of the CMVR:

“The test of competence to drive, referred to in sub-section (3) of Section 9 shall be conducted by the licensing authority or such other person as may be authorized in this behalf by the State Government in a vehicle of the type to which the application relates.” This is one of the primary reasons that obtaining a driver license in India is the easiest in contrast to being one of the most difficult tests in the developed world.

Recommendations:
It is compulsory to carry out a driving test in accordance with requirements spelt under sub-section 3 of Section 15 of CMVR. There is also need to develop a format with the requirements and marks given by a person conducting the test to maintain an official record that the test was actually conducted. The format must include the time and the date of the test, the vehicle number and the area where the test was conducted.

Renewal of licenses
As per Section 14 Motor Vehicles Act-
“Currency of licenses to drive motor vehicles.-(1) A learner’s license issued under the Act shall subject to the other provisions of the Act, be effective for a period of six months from the date of issue of the license. (2) A driving license issued or renewed under this Act shall,-
(a) in the case of a license to drive a transport vehicle, be effective for a
period of three years;
Provided that in the case of license to drive a transport vehicle carrying goods of dangerous or hazardous nature be effective for a period of one year and renewal thereof shall be subject to the condition that the driver undergoes one-day refresher course of the prescribed syllabus;”

Recommendations
While there is a condition of drivers of hazardous goods carriage to undergo a one day refresher course every year for renewal of license, there is no such requirement for any refresher course for transport vehicle drivers who renew their license every 3 yrs. As per Rule 18 (2) of Central Motor Vehicle Act there is only requirement of a medical certificate to renew such license. There is a need to emphasize that a majority of bus drivers and heavy goods vehicle drivers hardly get any formal training prior to issuance of driver licenses. They are also not updated on the type of hazards they would face and the growing volume of traffic.

It is recommended that a two day refresher training course be made compulsory for all transport vehicle drivers, and a successful completion of the same be the precondition of renewal, as being done by the Government of Delhi.

Driver training and safeguards in respect of motor vehicles used for the transportation of School Children.
Motor Vehicle laws hardly prescribe any specialized training for drivers of school transport vehicles nor propose any additional safeguards in respect of motor vehicles used for carrying school children.

The Delhi Motor Vehicles Rules were amended in 1993 and rules 7a, 7b and 7c were included for school transport safety. It is recommended that such legislation should be introduced so that the same is common and uniform across the country.

The L Plate while learning to drive;
As per Rule 3 (c) of CMVR, it is obligatory for learner drivers to affix an L plate as follows
“There is painted, in the front and the rear of the vehicle or on a plate or card affixed to the front and the rear, the Letter “L” in red on a white background as shown below.”

While the dimensions of the letter “L” have been mentioned in the Rules, however the placement of the card or plate have not been specified. Learner drivers often use stickers or boards and put them across the rear and front windscreen thereby obstructing the view of the driver. It is recommended that the suggested location of such plates should be mentioned.

Restriction of usage of Mobile Phones while driving The legislation on restriction on usage of mobile phones appears to be that of default. This prohibition was notified vide GSR 21 (E) dated 28.03.2001 inserted in Rule 21 of the CMVR as follows.

21 Power of licensing authority to disqualify
For the purpose of clause (f) of subsection (1) of section 19, the commission of the following acts by a holder of a driving license shall constitute nuisance or danger to the public – namely
(25) using mobile phone while driving a vehicle

There has been a lot of confusion in the enforcement of law pertaining to usage of mobile phones by the traffic police across the country.

• There is ambiguity in understanding and implementation as follow:
• Should the case be booked under Section 184 of the MVA
• What does it mean ‘while driving’ – can one be booked while waiting on a
  signal?
• Can hands free – phones be used?
• Are two way radio sets allowed by taxi users and other paramilitary and police
  organizations?

Recommendations
Ii is recommended that a new section dealing with the usage of mobile phones while driving be introduced. I have tried to make the following suggestive text based upon the legislation passed by the British Parliament.

Suggestive text for a new Section
No person is allowed to use a hand-held mobile phone while driving a motor vehicle. In addition it is also an offence for any one to cause or permit the use of hand held phone while driving a motor vehicle. The offence will apply to all mechanically propelled vehicles including motorcycles.

Under the legislation a person may be regarded as driving a vehicle while the engine is running and the vehicle is stationary. Drivers are advised that hand held mobile phones should not be used while a vehicle is stationary at traffic lights, police signals, or during short hold ups which may occur during a normal journey. The offence will be punishable under the category of dangerous driving section 184 of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988, as well as qualify for disqualification of a license under clause (f) of subsection (1) of section 19 of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988 clause 25 of Rule 21 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989.

Handheld Phones – a definition
The offence will apply to drivers speaking or listening to a phone call using a device interactively for accessing any sort of data which would include the internet sending or receiving text messages or other images or if it is held in the drivers hand during at least part of period of its operation.

It is clarified that carrying a switched on hand held phone in the vehicles is not prohibited. A phone may therefore continue to be used to receive data when it is in the vehicle providing the drivers is not holding it. Pushing buttons on a phone while it is in cradle would not breach the regulation.

Mobile Phones and other similar devices
1a) That the Government believes that drivers should not use hand free phones. Their use is however, exempt from the legislation due to enforcement reasons.
b) There are different type of handheld electronic devices which can be used in a similar manner as a phone to text, receive and record messages, access the internet or data within the device, or have dual or multi functions. To avoid any misconception the Government clarifies that the holding of any electronic device used for accessing oral, textual or pictorial communication is
prohibited under legislation.

However, the “press to talk” devices such as two way radios used by taxi drivers and emergency and enforcement organizations are exempt under the legislation.

2) Exemptions – The only exemption for usage a hand held mobile phone is for making an emergency call like 100 or similar numbers in different

Usage of Helmets: Section 129 of the Motor Vehicles Act.
It is proved by research all over the world that helmets should be compulsory for all motorized two wheeler riders and co-riders while riding. Developed countries are now legislating helmets for cyclists too.

Section 129 is not being enforced in the country for various reasons as the Section has been diluted by many Sate Governments by making various exemptions. The Government of Delhi for example has exempted women as pillion riders from wearing helmets.

2) It is recommended that the provision 'provided further that the State Government may by such rules, provide for such exemptions as it may think fit’ be deleted for effective implementation of this legislation. cities / states.

It is recommended that whatever we legislate should be easily enforceable.

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