Chandigarh, April 23, 2013: The Punjab Transport Department issued orders holding in abeyance the mandatory fitment of Auto Dippers in all types of vehicles and blamed Union Government for its flip-flop stand on this critical issue of safety on the roads.
According to an official spokesman the Punjab Government had made mandatory the installation of auto dippers on February 27 as mandated by Rule No. 106 of Central Motor Vehicle Rules 1989 that called for provision of advice to deflect the light downward so that it could not dazzle the driver coming from opposite end. The Spokesman said that even Ministry of Surface Transport inserted the Rule 125 “in every Motor Vehicle other than a motor cycle and three wheeler of engine capacity not exceeding 500cc shall be equipped with an auto-dipper” and later suddenly withdrew it without seeking any comments from the State Governments. The spokesman said that on the critical issue of human safety especially with rising vehicular traffic the Union Surface Transport Ministry has been taking an ambivalent stand.
The Spokesman said that the safety of human beings was important to the State Government especially when vehicular traffic on the state roads was perhaps highest in the country. He said that with Punjab GDP per capita ranking 6th in top 10 states and state having the highest road density, with negligible Railway network, it was imperative for the state government to take step for the Human Safety. He said that with Punjab having 20 cars per thousand persons against national average of 12 cars and State Ranking 6th on accident rate, this step was taken to as per the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Rules and now this notification has been held in abeyance.
The spokesman said that Union Government instead of taking macro view on this issue of road safety should have a micro look and seek the suggestions of all stake holders including states so that human safety aspect was not ignored.