Thiruvananthapuram: The Supreme Court committee slammed the Kerala Government for slashing fines against road violations which are set by the Central Government. The committee has been constituted to devise various projects for reducing road accidents in India.
The state government received flak from former Supreme Court Chief Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre who is also the chairman of Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety during a review meeting. Sapre asked whether the government intended to motivate the violators. He pointed out the shortcomings of the state government before transport principal secretary KR Jyothilal and transport commissioner MR Ajithkumar.
In 2019, the Union government had hiked fines for various violations in 2019, and minimum fine of Rs 1,000 set. Among the fines, the state government had slashed the fines to Rs 500 except for drunken driving case, using its authority. Sapre, citing data and measures, alleged that unlike most states, Kerala refrained from taking strong stand against the violators.
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‘If rules are followed properly then 71% of accidents can be avoided. The percentage of accidents and deaths that happened on national highways are respectively 43% and 50%. If inspections on this locations are intensified, accident rate can be reduced’, Sapre said. He added that there should be stringent measures against violations namely non-wearing helmets/seat belts, overspeeding, drunk driving and rash driving, he said. To avoid drunk driving, police should conduct verification near bars, Sapre added.
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