Think-tank recommends road safety law

Road safety think-tank SaveLIFE Foundation Thursday recommended to the government a comprehensive legislative framework for road safety in India.

The foundation welcomed last month's announcement by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to replace the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 with a stronger Road Safety law.

It called for professionally managed and centralised driver's licensing regime, stringent punishment for drunk-driving, over-speeding and rash-driving, provisions for protection of children, cyclists and pedestrians on the road, a standardised and scientific approach for crash investigation, fixing accountability for faulty road design and engineering, and establishment of a lead agency for road safety.

Piyush Tewari, founder and CEO of SaveLIFE Foundation, said: "A comprehensive and all-encompassing law is the need of the hour, but equally important is to establish a robust mechanism for enforcement of the law".