Sandesh Prabhudesai
17 May 2000
Driving on the main roads could be safe in future if the trial courts all over the country follow the suite of one such court in Goa, which sentenced one year imprisonment for a driver who killed an innocent scooterist.
Desmond D'Costa, the JMFC of Panaji has sentenced Mumbai-based Subayya Balchanda for rash and negligent driving, besides imposing fines and compensation. In 1997, while driving a car on the national highway here, he went on a wrong side by overtaking another car and dashed the scooter coming from opposite side.
The judgement was passed in tune with what the Supreme Court said recently : "the most effective ways of keeping such drivers under mental vigil is to maintain deterrent element in sentencing sphere. This is the role the courts can play, particular the trial courts, for lessening the high rate of motor accidents due to callous driving".
While upholding one year and three months sentence to a Haryana Roadways bus driver for crushing a cyclist to death, the division bench of the supreme court comprising Justice K T Thomas and Justice Doraiswamy Raju had said these drivers deserve no leniency under the probation of Offenders Act.
"I do not find any merits in the submissions that the accused deserves leniency since he is not a professional driver. Whether a person is a professional driver or any driver makes no difference when a person is driving a vehicle", stated D'Costa, while agreeing with APP Pratima Vernekar that no leniency is called for in the case.
The judgement also referred to the observation made by the SC that "the road accidents have proliferated to alarming extent and the toll is galloping up day by day in India and no solution is in sight, nor suggested by any quarters to bring them down".
Being one of the major tourist destinations of the country, even main roads of Goa are found to be jammed with busy traffic most of the time of the year. Besides around 20 per cent tourist vehicles, Goans also add over 26,000 vehicles every year, which means that minimum 70 new vehicles come on the road every day here.
The statistics collected from the traffic section of the police department reveals that over 1650 accidents were reported last year with 209 casualties and leaving 1641 injured. Incidentally, 69 per cent of these accidents are caused due to rash and negligent driving.
The statistics also reveals that 36 per cent of the accidents involve two-wheelers while Goa has 69 per cent two wheelers among automobiles. On the contrary, in spite of having only 28 per cent four-wheelers which mainly including cars, jeeps and trucks, the accident rate of these vehicles is almost 39 per cent.
Though it is true that most of the accidents involving tourists are caused due to drinking alcohol which is cheap in Goa, the figures indicate that 68 per cent of accidents are caused during 11 am to 8 pm, which could be considered normal working hours in the tourist state.
As rash and negligent driving is becoming rampant, the lower court judgement could be an eye opener if what the SC said could be true. "The driver must always keep in mind the fear psyche that if he is convicted of the offence for causing death of a human being due to his callous driving, he cannot escape from jail sentence".
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