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| India seeks to tackle road deaths |
| The Indian government has introduced a bill in parliament proposing a steep increase in fines for traffic offences.
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| INDIA
, 17-May-2007
2:14:25 AM |
| The move is aimed at cracking down on the country's chaotic and indisciplined driving. Every year, more than 90,000 people are killed in road accidents.
Such accidents account for nearly 8% of the world's total fatalities.
The number of drivers in India is set to soar from seven in 1,000 today to 11 in 1,000 by 2010 - a doubling since 2000 when 0.5% of Indians had a car.
Reckless driving
Stepping out on the roads and highways of India is not for the faint hearted.
At any given time, pedestrians compete for space with a dizzying variety of vehicles: buses, cars, trucks, three-wheel auto-rickshaws, hand-pulled carts and, of course, the occasional cow.
And India's growing economy means that there has been a surge in demand for new cars.
Many drivers, however, simply disregard traffic rules and road accidents caused by reckless driving are quite common in India - among the highest in the world.
Under the government's new proposals, speeding could attract a fine of $10 to $25, while drunken driving could lead to six months in prison as well as a penalty of $50.
A similar initiative is already in place in the capital, Delhi, and has led to a visible improvement in traffic discipline.
But some people fear that it could lead to corruption, with police asking traffic violators for bribes.
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