495 Assessment of Sub-national Compliance of Motor Vehicle Amendment Act 2019 in India

Context

More than 150,000 people lose their lives every year, and 750,000 become disabled due to fatal road traffic injuries in India.

Process

In 2019, India enacted ‘The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act’ (MVAA). However, MVAA met stiff resistance at the state-level, resulting in variability of policy and implementation. This raises questions about compliance with MVAA at the sub-national level.

Analysis

Johns Hopkins International Injury Research Unit is assessing state-level compliance of MVAA in three states (Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh) and the National Capital Region of Delhi using a mixed-method case study approach.

Outcomes

In preliminary assessment, MVAA regulations can be organized into five categories – (a) minimizing adverse outcomes on humans, (b) improving road safety culture, (c) automobile regulations, (d) supporting infrastructure and environment, and (e) ancillary amendments. Compared to its predecessor, the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988, MVAA imposed higher penalties for violations, introduced protection to Good Samaritans, ensured accountability of vehicle manufacturing and insurance, and infrastructure development. However, we observed significant adjustments, including lowering penalties during state-level ratification of the MVAA.

Learning Outcomes

Sub-national compliance of MVAA largely depends on institutional, political, and organizational dynamics across federal and state governing bodies. Norms and culture of law-enforcement personnel and population affect compliance at the implementation stage. Our analysis will continue to investigate the facilitators and barriers of state-level implementation and attitudes of all relevant stakeholders towards MVAA using qualitative methods. We are eager to present the integrated result of the case study at the 2022 Congress in November.