Good Samaritans to be rewarded for taking road accident victims to hospital

Rules for Good Samaritans was notified by the ministry on September 29, 2020, as per the provisions under Section 134A of the Motor Vehicle Amendment Act, 2019.

The government has said anyone who saves the life of a road accident victim by rushing them to a hospital within the “golden hour” will be rewarded for their effort. The Union ministry of road transport and highways has issued guidelines for the scheme, which will be in place from October 15, 2021, till March 31, 2026. “The scheme for grant of an award to the Good Samaritan who has saved the life of a victim of a fatal accident involving a motor vehicle by administering immediate assistance and rushing to hospital/trauma Care Centre within the Golden Hour of the accident to provide medical treatment,” the road ministry said on Monday.

As many as  131,714 people died in road accident in the country last year.  (HT File Photo)

“The amount of award for each Good Samaritan would be Rs. 5,000 per incident. Every cash award would be accompanied with a certification of appreciation," it said. Golden hour is the one hour period after a traumatic injury and there is the highest likelihood of preventing death by providing prompt medical care to the victim.

Rules for Good Samaritans was notified by the ministry on September 29, 2020, as per the provisions under Section 134A of the Motor Vehicle Amendment Act, 2019. "Now, it has been felt that there is a need to motivate the general public through cash awards and certificates to help the road accident victims in an emergency situation and to boost their morale, and also to inspire and motivate others to save lives of the road accident victims," the ministry said.

According to the ministry’s guidelines, an individual Good Samaritan can be awarded a maximum of five times a year. The ministry also said there will be 10 national-level awards for the most worthy Good Samaritans, who will be selected from all those who have been awarded during an entire year, and they would be given an award of ₹100,000 each. Under the guidelines, if more than one Good Samaritan saves the life of more than one victim, the amount of award will be ₹5,000 for every person saved, subject to a maximum of ₹5,000 per Good Samaritan. The ministry said it will provide ₹5 lakh as an initial grant to the transport department of states and Union territories for rewarding the Good Samaritans.

The guidelines say that in case the Good Samaritan informs the police about the accident, the police will provide an acknowledgement to the person after verifying details from a doctor on an official letter pad. The copy of the acknowledgement would then be sent to the appraisal committee formed at the district level under the chairmanship of the district magistrate by the concerned police station. And, a copy will be marked to the Good Samaritan. If the Good Samaritan takes the road accident victim to the hospital directly, the hospital will provide all the details to the concerned police station. The police shall provide an acknowledgement to such Good Samaritan, it added.

Last month, the Rajasthan government announced a similar reward for Good Samaritans who save lives by taking road accident victims to hospitals. It said that the ₹5,000 cash reward will be given under the Mukhyamantri Chiranjeevi Jeevan Rakshak Yojna. The person will also be given a certificate, it added.

Union minister of road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari said recently 366,138 road accidents occurred in India during the calendar year 2020, causing 131,714 deaths.