Etah accident brings focus back on long pending Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill

The proposed changes to the law, which was framed in 1988 and last amended in 2001, have been under discussion in and outside Parliament for nearly a decade.

The accident involving a school bus in UP has put the focus back on the long-pending Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill.

School children killed as bus collides with truck in Uttar Pradesh’s Etah. (HT file photo)

The proposed changes to the law, which was framed in 1988 and last amended in 2001, have been under discussion in and outside Parliament for nearly a decade.

However, with the low priority accorded to road safety issues by policy and lawmakers, the bill has failed to see the light of the day even as fatalities on account of road accidents continued to rise.

Fatalities due to road accidents have risen from 92,618 in 2004 to 1.46 lakh in 2015.