'Changes in Motors Vehicle Act urgently needed'

As part of the government effort to improve road safety in the country, the Road Transport and Highway Ministry on Friday said there is an urgent need to make administrative changes in the Motors Vehicle Act.

"As a signatory to Brasilia Declaration, India is committed to reducing the number of road accidents and fatalities by 50 percent by 2020. We need urgent reforms to weed out archaic rules and practices so that the road sector can support the high growth rates of the Indian economy," said the ministry in a statement.

The Brasilia Declaration recommends the actions that must be taken to reach the Goals of the Decade and the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The recommendations include stronger road safety management, legislation and enforcement, promotion of safer roads and sustainable modes of transport among several others.

The statement was issued after the convention of a meeting of Principal Transport Secretaries of states and Transport Commissioners to deliberate on various issues, including road safety, that need to be urgently addressed.

"The deliberations focus on what needs to be done to make road travel safer, bring down number of accidents, facilitate ease of transport and enhance customer experience in transactions with transport and police departments," said the statement.

The meeting was in preparation for a meeting of the Group of Ministers (GoM) for Transport of states, scheduled to be held here on April 29.

--IANS

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