[TusharK]

According to a media report, new car buyers could be charged Rs. 500 as a one-time contribution towards the proposed hit & run compensation fund. The Supreme Court is expected to give a decision on this after hearing the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by S. Rajasekharan.



In February 2019, the Supreme Court had accepted the recommendation that proposed that the minimum compensation be raised to Rs. 2 lakh in case of death in a hit and run accident. This would be paid through the existing solatium fund. In addition to that, reports suggest that the government would require around Rs. 800 crore annually for compensating victims. This fund would be created by collecting a one-time fee from new vehicle owners.

In May 2018, the government had announced a 10-fold increase in the minimum compensation payable to road accident victims. Those killed in road accidents would receive Rs. 5 lakh and in case of permanent disability, the compensation will range from Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 5 lakh depending on the extent of the disability.

Source: Times of India

Link to Team-BHP News

[blackwasp]

Nice, one more avenue to pay more money which will never see any thoughtful utilisation of the amount. While I'm not un-willing to contribute, the need of the hour is the urgent revamp of 3rd-party claims in India. With the common man going ahead and claiming insurance for own damage even if someone else is at a fault, the state of affairs is really sad here. I can count the number of 3rd-party claims (by friends / extended family) in the low single digit!

Further, this Rs. 500 seems a small amount, but why can't the govt. just announce that compensation amount will be recovered from those at fault? This way, every car owner would take a high value personal liability insurance solving the problem.

[nishsingh]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

but why can't the govt. just announce that compensation amount will be recovered from those at fault?

Because it is a hit-and-run?

Obviously this means that one cannot identify the other party involved in the accident.

[Nav-i-gator]

And how is that compensation supposed to be given? If someone dozes off while driving and hits a tree/pole/divider etc and then claims compensation, citing a hit and run by someone else, then?

[aravind.anand]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Further, this Rs. 500 seems a small amount, but why can't the govt. just announce that compensation amount will be recovered from those at fault? This way, every car owner would take a high value personal liability insurance solving the problem.

Agree with you that this 500 per car will vanish into thin air like we all know. But in a hit-and-run case there is no party that is at fault, as the person simply would have absconded. But lets put to use the CCTV cameras to good use in such cases.

Also, we all know about government's pace, and I have absolutely no hope that the money would reach the right hands at the right time anyway.

Food for thought - NGT banned large diesel engines with capacity greater than 2L in the NCR region and created too much ruckus, only to decide on collecting a 1% cess on such cars and SUVs. This amount might not make a huge difference for an Innova or Fortuner buyer anyway. But what happened to that 1% cess now? On a big SUV, that is easily more than 20k. Were there plants being planted to compensate the air quality? Were there any other air quality improving equipment deployed? Nothing ! But we still will have to keep paying

[2000rpm]

I dont want to be political here. But I think the overall design principles followed by the government nowadays is "Jo de rahe hai unse aur nikalo". A hit and run fund will be a new cost to each customer (which most will happily pay) but the beneficiary will never receive the amount at the right time. The allocation mechanism will be massively corrupt.

[aadya]

Are we absolved of our responsibility if we are unfortunately involved in an accident? (Anyway hit and run fund is there to take care of this.)

Imbeciles are running the show it seems, this is what the third party insurance is being done for. If the Insurance companies, law enforcement shows some resolve to get early compensation for the victims, many more people would help the victims even if they are the one at fault.

[ruzbehxyz]

Another gimmick. I don't like politics but this seems another gimmick.

People are never against paying extra for a good cause. However the question here is whether the amount is used in the right spirit and at the right time.

Just keep paying. Laws are changing so frequently that the common man has to suffer. Wonder what next?

[Bh.P]

Ridiculous. It is the inefficiency of the law enforcement agencies that they are unable to solve the hit and run cases. And now, we are asked to pay for their in-efficiency. Just like the "swachh bharat cess". People who dirty are let go. And every one pays to clean the mess they create.

[etrast75]

It is becoming less and less sensible to buy a new car nowadays. This charge, that cess, TCS etc keep adding up the on road price. Best option seems to be to buy a lightly used car second hand.
Car buyers are the prime target for govt extortion

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by nishsingh

Because it is a hit-and-run?

Originally Posted by aravind.anand

But in a hit-and-run case there is no party that is at fault, as the person simply would have absconded.

Good points gents, but then, if you are in a situation where you could be in harms way, won't it be a good idea to have a personal accident insurance? Eg. the road I cross near my home is notorious for signal-jumpers. So what do I do apart from crossing safely? Take a 5L personal accident policy for 500 bucks yearly. This is apart from the ones given by certain card holders.

Ofcourse, this is not a justification of letting the hit and run guys go scot free, but shouldn't the govt be blamed here? It's their responsibility to have adequate infrastructure (CCTV etc.) to get hold of the person responsible. So if they can't find the offender, let them pay themselves.

[nishsingh]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

if you are in a situation where you could be in harms way, won't it be a good idea to have a personal accident insurance?

Actually, most of the hit and run victims I have witnessed are poor villagers living near highways, and those who have been unable to cope up with the advancements in infrastructure (for e.g. the humble narrow road through/near their village becoming a major-bypass etc.)

There is a lot of economic disparity in India, and not everyone knows about a personal accident insurance. (Pretty sure most of my family members dont have one either.)

I personally wouldnt mind paying Rs 500/- extra, when buying a new car, if it would help if the victims in hit and run can get some monetary help from the government (even if it comes via me).

[locusjag]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

why can't the govt. just announce that compensation amount will be recovered from those at fault? This way, every car owner would take a high value personal liability insurance solving the problem.

Reminds me of a probably apocryphal story that every person in Madras knows too well; an infamous college principal in Madras is supposed to have asked to a class once - "can all the absentees please raise their hands?"

@ All

I am perfectly fine with this one-time fee. I'm acutely aware of there being a similar concept in the US - it's called the Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists coverage. Hit and run accidents are reimbursed to policyholders under this coverage and this coverage is mandatory in most states there. If you want to purchase Liability coverage (what's called third party coverage in India), you have to buy the Uninsured Motorist coverage as well.

Let's face it, hit and run drivers are a menace. It is a crime to leave an accident scene, more so if one is at fault precisely for this reason - you're disowning your duties to people you've grievously affected when you leave. Part of your duties, if you're at fault, is to pay for bodily injuries or property damages caused to third parties.

Are hit and run drivers unique to India alone? Obviously, no.

Is the Uninsured Motorist coverage in the US or this Rs.500 one-time fee in India fair to responsible drivers? No.

But do they create a large pool of funds to reimburse victims of at-fault hit and run drivers? Yes.

There is an upside to this one-time fee, besides: until now, people have been claiming damages to their vehicles caused by hit and run drivers under their collision coverage. Bodily injuries also are covered by the policies. But this not only robs individual policyholders of their NCBs, this also messes up the entire Insurance industry's profitability. This in turn causes them to jack up rates to all policyholders, so as to maintain at least a semblance of profitability. So, the status quo is already unfair to everyone - except the hit and run drivers.

[Zappo]

Originally Posted by Nav-i-gator

And how is that compensation supposed to be given? If someone dozes off while driving and hits a tree/pole/divider etc and then claims compensation, citing a hit and run by someone else, then?

Again, it's only for Hit-and-Run cases. You dozing off and hitting a median will not qualify you for a Hit-and-Run I guess. Unless you say that the other guy was driving on the wrong side of the road a hit-and-run will need to have a rear shunt from another vehicle. Similarly, if you hit a tree and run away it will not work either. Someone else needs to run away after hitting you (presumably from the rear or sideways, end quarter) for you to claim this compensation.

And this being a Government related matter I am pretty sure, god forbid, if you ever suffer such a fate they will not make it so easy for you to claim the compensation. I won't be surprised if suddenly it turns out then that the onus is on you to prove that someone hit you and ran away and that it was not you who caused the accident.

[zaveed]

Another way to rob the people who buy the cars .

More than the 50% of amount that victim has to receive will need to be paid in advance(in the form of bribes) and then have the patience to keep visiting the govt office as nothing works in the government offices at one go. so the whole amount will very respectfully used by the so called government to fund their campaigns,Security of the ministers, educational tours abroad.....so on and so forth.

We will as usual be the jokers who have no control but just do what they say. PATHETIC.

Sorry for the rants and the admins can delete the post if it is going OT.