Will anything change on Indian roads?

​The union government recently passed a Motor Vehicle amendment bill which is aimed at bringing some much needed changes in the system. In a previous post I had reproduced the text of the press release on the Bill as-is; that provides a comprehensive summary.

When talking about anything related to road transport, the organisation that is in most need of reform is the Motor Vehicles Department's  Regional Transport Offices (RTO). These RTO offices are a heaven for corruption, a nexus of agents conniving with corrupt officials, making it almost impossible to get any task done by ordinary individuals. Be it a licence renewal, licence issuance, registration of vehicle or anything else, there is an absolute need to go via middle men and pay additional commissions to get the work done.

If you happen to land up at the RTO office on any day, you will find yourself chased by agents / middlemen from the gates of the building. And even if you manage to dodge you will find that it is almost impossible to get any job done because most of the officials inside are expecting the 'cut money's that lands up in their pockets through agents; your request / file will just not move.

Thus any attempt of reform in this sector should start from the Motor Vehicle Department itself. Today when I am needed to reissue my licence as the writings have almost faded, why should I be paying 2000 rupees for a job which is actually charged 200-300 rupees by the department; where does rest of the money land up.

There is a massive need of digitization of the RTO services to weed out any corruption. There is some promise in the form of Vahan and Sarathi portals but those just look to be the first step at digitization of the records. The need is digitization of the services something inline with Passport e-Seva which can weed out the presence of middle men and life a bit easier.
In the current bill the fine amount for most of the offences have been increased many fold. When there is effective policing then these hefty​​ fines would definitely act as a deterrent. In metropolitan areas where the policing is good this can show results but as you move away from the city boundaries the impact will wean away. Few days back there was this incident of a mother and her daughter being gang raped by robbers while driving along the highway. If problems are so serious, offences like no helmet, no licence or no insurance would seem 'small' in comparison.

​ Highways and roads outside the major urban centers are seldom monitored. In West Bengal itself the difference is stark when you compare Kolkata and rest of the state. The West Bengal state police force is grossly understaffed to devote dedicated personnel for traffic management. You will seldom notice any motorist caring for any traffic rule once they move out of the jurisdiction of Kolkata Police. Within the city limits however the Kolkata Traffic Police does a tremendous job to ensure traffic movement; thanks to them traffic movement within the city limits can still be stated good considering the volume of vehicles moving on the narrow roads in the city.

The bill also increased the limit of compensation for hit and run cases. But I am sure this again will of no value unless someone does a Salman Khan. There are many hit and run cases of minor magnitude taking place daily across the city.

One of the positive pointers introduced in the bill is w.r.t fixing the responsibility of the offences committed by juveniles on the parents of the juvenile. This is a much needed move as the parents are in-principle responsible for all the accidents committed by under age drivers.
The other positive pointer is the introduction of a new category of fines for blocking the way of vehicles which are on emergency services.

But this bill will not be able to overnight correct the transport problems of the crowded Indian streets. In cities like Kolkata where autos rule the policemen can nothing be apart from mute spectators. On days when massive political rallies are organised in the city (21st July is one such in recent times of TMC dominance), the audacity with which four-wheelers and two-wheelers of all sizes and types break traffic rules is a spectacle in itself. The law enforcing authorities can do nothing but watch in awe of how insignificant they are in the wider political landscape.

The bill also not be able to stem the rot which has infested the RTO offices across the country. It will not be able to control the issuance of driving licence to drivers who neither understand road sign nor have the understanding how jumping a red signal can endanger several other lives.

The bill will only be able to reign in the petty traffic violations by middle class salaried people who commute daily between home and office; for obvious reasons they are the most vulnerable and the fines could be easily imposed on them. But the Bill will just be a piece of paper for a Land Rover fitted with a red beacon driving down a wrong lane and also for that matter in case of a simple two wheeler fitted with the flag of a political party.

In India no law is formulated or implemented equally for every citizen. The colors of money,party, politics, caste, religion and many other such factors call the final shots.

P.S.: In January 2017 I successful paid my Road Tax without taking help from any tout,. It was hard for me to realize whether I am giving or taking money from the government officials. Somehow I had to dodge the thug agents who tried everything possible to block me from paying the Road Tax on my own.
However this time I was quite adamant and since I had the flexibility, I made 4 visits to the Beltola RTO (near Bhawanipore) from home in South Kolkata  and ultimately paid the Road Tax. Harrowing experience.