Govt planning free cashless treatment for road accident victims across the country
cashless medical treatment facilities for victims of road accidents across India within the next few months. This initiative will be part of the amended Motor Vehicle Act 2019 (MAV2019) and will be fully implemented nationwide.
The announcement was made at the 'Global Road Safety Initiative' event in Delhi, organized by the Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE) in partnership with MoRTH, UNESCAP, and UNECE, a TOI report stated.
According to Mr. Anurag Jain, Secretary of MoRTH, «Cashless treatment, including during the golden hour, will be provided to road accident victims as defined by the MV Amendment Act.» The term «golden hour» refers to the vital first hour following a fatal car accident, when early medical intervention can make all the difference.
According to the road transport secretary, it aims to provide access to cashless trauma care treatment for road accident victims at the nearest appropriate hospital in the country, in compliance with the Supreme Court order.
He further stated that India has the highest number of road accident deaths globally and the ministry aims to reduce accidents by 50 per cent by 2030 through a multi-pronged strategy focusing on education, engineering, enforcement, and emergency care.
Road safety has been integrated into road design at the planning stage, and the Electronic Detailed Accident Report (e-DAR) Project has been initiated to establish a central repository for reporting, managing, and analyzing road accident data across the country.
The ongoing 'Global Road Safety Initiative' in Delhi has gathered around 130 road safety experts from 27 countries. The experts are working towards identifying safety codes to minimize road crashes and fatalities.
