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Right to Trauma Care Good Samaritan Law Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019

Vision

SaveLIFE Foundation leads the charge in advocating for comprehensive road safety legislation aimed at substantially reducing road crash injuries and fatalities across India. Our evidence-based, strategic approach promotes continuous legislative development through identifying key issues, analysing data, conducting gap analyses, designing targeted solutions, advocating for policy change, and engaging stakeholders for effective policy adoption. Our vision is dedicated to delivering solutions that make a tangible difference in road safety, driven by innovative legislation that establishes new standards for life protection and public welfare.

Solution

The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 serves as the principal legislation for road safety in India. Acknowledging its limitations in addressing contemporary road safety challenges, SaveLIFE Foundation has focused on enhancing it through public consultations, legal reviews, and rigorous data and evidence analysis. Identifying the urgent need for updates to the Act, SLF began supporting its amendment in 2013. This effort led to the significant update with the Motor Vehicles Amendment Act (MVAA) of 2019. As the Technical Partner to the Government of India, SLF contributed to the drafting process, with a particular focus on safeguarding vulnerable road users and aiming to save lives.

Progress

In 2014, SaveLIFE Foundation (SLF) developed a detailed “Ten Point Agenda” for legislative reform after extensive consultations in India. This set of recommendations, submitted to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), catalysed significant policy changes.  SLF spearheaded a multi-stakeholder campaign for India’s road safety framework, playing a key role in the enactment of the 2019 Motor Vehicles Amendment Act (MVAA), which adopted several SLF proposals.
Building on this success, SLF now focuses on state-level support to ensure effective implementation of this critical legislation. Working closely with MoRTH and state governments, SLF aims to enhance road safety measures and improve outcomes across India through rigorous MVAA enforcement.

Interactive Map showcasing policy partnership for implementing provisions of MVA:

Way Forward

SaveLIFE Foundation (SLF) is intensifying its policy engagement efforts with state and district administrations to ensure more effective enactment of the legislation at the grassroots level. Concurrently, SLF is dedicating efforts to meticulously document the empirical outcomes of the law, in collaboration with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, to undertake a thorough assessment for evaluative review. This initiative aims to identify areas of success and opportunities for further refinement, underscoring SLF’s commitment to enhancing road safety through informed, data-driven policy improvements.

Resources

Reports

Briefing Papers on the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019

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