Supreme Court directs States to frame protocol to ensure timely assistance for road accident victims

The Supreme Court on Thursday directed all States and Union Territories (UTs) to formulate and implement comprehensive protocols within six months to ensure that victims of road accidents receive immediate assistance [S Rajaseekaran vs. Union of India & Ors.]..A Bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan noted the alarming rise in road accident cases and the lack of timely response systems. “There are cases where victims may not be injured but are trapped in the vehicle. The issue is to develop a machinery to ensure swift response in case of accidents,” it observed. .The Court emphasised that the Centre, States and UTs must proactively address the issue while noting that local realities vary across jurisdictions. The Court granted six months’ time to the States and UTs to file action-taken reports..During the hearing, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) placed a note before the Court outlining its efforts in this regard. The Bench directed that the note be shared with State transport departments and asked NHAI to file an affidavit within six months detailing actual implementation. States and UTs were told to consider the NHAI protocol as a guiding framework.The Court also flagged that under Section 215(B) of the Motor Vehicles Act, a National Road Safety Board had been envisaged, but appointments to the Board remained pending. The Centre was directed to file an affidavit disclosing the outer limit by which the Board will be constituted..The Court further turned its attention to the working conditions of drivers of transport vehicles. While drivers are statutorily limited to 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week, the Court noted that these limits are often violated, leading to fatigue-related accidents.It, therefore, directed the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to hold consultations with State authorities and frame an effective mechanism to implement these limits. States were asked to submit compliance reports by the end of August. A consolidated report is to be filed by the Ministry thereafter.“Unless there is a deterrent, these important safeguards cannot be implemented,” the Bench said, adding that the possibility of invoking criminal provisions should be explored..The Bench also took note of concerns regarding speeding and traffic enforcement, and called upon NHAI to examine whether real-time data transmission could be used to calculate average speeds between toll booths. The suggestion merits serious consideration, the Bench remarked..[Read Live Coverage].[Read Order]