Gadkari unveils cashless treatment scheme for road accident victims
NEW DELHI, JAN 8 : After a successful pilot in a couple of states, the Centre will introduce a scheme to facilitate cashless treatment for road accident victims Rs 1.5 lakh each, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari announced on Tuesday.
The scheme covers medical expenses for up to seven days or a maximum of Rs 1.5 lakh, and the approval will take less than 24 hours of the accident. In case of a hit-and-run case resulting in a fatality, the family will get Rs 2 lakh as compensation. The government tested the scheme in Assam, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Puducherry.
At the end of the two-day conference of transport ministers, secretaries and commissioners of states and union territories, Gadkari said, “We observed some shortcomings. Based on that, we are working to improve it. It will benefit the victims and their families.”
Gadkari informed that the government would work on introducing three suggestions or active safety measures to prevent accidents in commercial, especially heavy vehicles: electronic stability control, emergency braking system and driver drowsiness audio-alert mechanism. “These suggestions are revolutionary. The decision has been taken; it will be there in trucks and buses,” said the minister.
The minister said the government referred to extended working hours for commercial vehicle drivers, adding that options to prevent such practice through Vehicle Location Tracking Device (VLTD) devices and monitoring duty timings with an Aadhaar-based system were under consideration.
The government is also planning to introduce a safety star rating for e-rickshaws to encourage manufacturers to improve the safety of the humble mode of transport.
On Tuesday, he also launched a scheme of driving training institutes (DTI), including the cluster approach for training and testing facilities. The initiative aims to ensure safer roads by training skilled drivers.
With automated test tracks and advanced technologies such as Radio Frequency Identification and video systems, the scheme extends its reach to the country’s remotest corners to create model DTIs for scientific and systematic driving training. The ministry announced that 90 Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities and 240 Automated Testing Stations would be ready by March 2025.
-PTI
