The Hindu : New Delhi News : Alarm over rising hit-and-run cases

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Saturday, Dec 22, 2007
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New Delhi

Alarm over rising hit-and-run cases

Strict implementation of traffic rules can check accidents, observes Ashok Kumar

Yet another hit-and-run case rocked the Capital this past weekend when a speeding Maruti Esteem car ploughed into a barricade at Lodhi Colony in the middle of the night, inflicting near fatal injuries on four persons, including two Delhi Police personnel. While one of the injured -- Home Guard Company Commander Harish Raut -- has slipped into coma, the others have sustained multiple fractures in their limbs and serious head injuries. And like in the vast majority of such a ccidents, the police are still groping in the dark in the absence of any leads.

Every major accident leaves a tragic trail of death, permanent injury, psychological trauma and grieving family and friends, but the failure on the part of a driver to stop and render aid and accept responsibility for his act haunts the family of the victim all the more. Every fatal accident has sorrow, shock and grief in its aftermath, but a regretful driver, or a judicial sentence for a crime committed, helps alleviate the pain of the victim’s family.

But in a hit-and-run case, the inability of the victim’s family to put a face to the tormentor makes them feel helpless and impedes the healing process. Also, the driver, who may not be at fault, turns a tragic accident into a crime by leaving the scene. This not only obstructs the grieving process of the family but also turns an otherwise innocent driver into a criminal and a hunted person. “There could be a host of reasons that prompt a driver to flee the spot of the accident. The driver involved in the accident could be drunk, scared or possessing an expired or revoked licence. The vehicle could be stolen or he might be on the wrong side of the law. In some cases, the drivers are found to have run for their life as they fear lynching at the hands of the angry public. Some people think they can get away with it and flee from the scene,” said a senior police officer.

After the driver has managed to vanish from the spot, identification of the offending vehicle is always a Herculean task. Most hit-and-run cases take place during the night and the task of identifying the vehicle becomes all the more difficult in the absence of any eyewitness. “Even if the accident takes place in broad daylight, people are not very forthcoming with information about the vehicle and prefer to stay away from legal hassles. No one takes the pain to note down the registration number or depose in court. Unless the vehicle type and the registration number are known and without the co-operation of the masses, the authorities can do but little to trace the vehicle and bring the guilty to book,” say police officers. Hence dealing with hit-and-run cases continues to be a grey area for the police in the Capital.

In the end, strict implementation of traffic rules, enforcement of speed limits and responsible driving alone can help check accidents and bring down the number of accidents. Above all there is the need to amend the law and make provision for more stringent punishments for irresponsible driving that leads to loss of precious lives on the roads. In most cases, the accused in an accident is charged with rash and negligent driving, which is a bailable offence with two-year imprisonment in case of conviction.

There is a strong consensus among police officers who deal with accident cases that it should be made a non-bailable offence and a minimum 10-year RI ought to be imposed on erring drivers. Drunken driving should also be punished in an exemplary manner, they add. Perhaps even greater is the need for society to sensitise itself towards the growing number of accidents and loss of innocent lives on roads and motivate itself to find solutions within.

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