TN has been recording maximum number of accidents, says senior officer
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Chennai: Six months have whizzed past since the Centre notified the Good Samaritan guidelines, but Tamil Nadu is yet to enact a law to protect people who come forward to help road accidents victims.
For a state that has been consistently topping the chart in national road accidents statistics (67,250 road accident cases in 2014) in recent years, it is highly imperative to provide legal teeth to guidelines.
All that Tamil Nadu needs is some time, commitment and financial planning from its babus so that more bystanders will volunteer to save a stranger’s lives.
The first initiative in this direction was taken on Wednesday with a stakeholders meeting.
Piyush Tiwari, founder and CEO of Savelife Foundation — an NGO and conglomerate of road safety think tanks that got the SC to direct the Centre to issue the guidelines — got various department heads together in the city to discuss the modalities of framing a state specific law, which he believes, will persuade the government to go for a central legislation. The report of the national study on “impediments to bystander care in India” done by Savelife Foundation was discussed at length at the consultation meet organized by the state planning commission.
A senior officer who took part in the meeting said under condition of anonymity: “TN has been recording maximum number of accidents in the country in the last few years. Many accidents are fatal owing to failure to provide immediate medical care. Though our response time is high even in the absence of legislation, this well-intentioned law will help bystanders to volunteer without inhibition instead of waiting for the emergency services to attend to the injured on the road. It is a good beginning. We have to hold elaborate consultations before finalising the law as it involves various departments plus lot of money.”
What the guidelines say?
A bystander or Good Samaritan who takes a person injured in a road accident to the hospital should be allowed to leave immediately except in the case of an eyewitness of the accident who should furnish his address.
Authorities should suitably reward/compensate the bystanders or Good Samaritans in the manner specified by the State to encourage other citizens to come forward to help the road accident victims.
Bystander or Good Samaritan shall not be liable for any civil and criminal liability.
A bystander or Good Samaritan, who calls the police or emergency services for the person lying injured on the road, shall not be compelled to reveal his name and personal details on the phone or in person. Disclosure should be optional, including in medico legal case forms provided by hospitals.
The government concerned shall initiate disciplinary or departmental action against public officials who coerce or intimidate a bystander or Good Samaritan to reveal his name or personal details.
Bystander or Good Samaritan who voluntarily states that s/he is an eyewitness to the accident and is required to be examined for police investigation or during trial shall be examined on a single occasion. State should develop standard operation procedures to prevent harassment or intimidation of a bystander or Good Samaritan. Video conferencing may be used during examination.
Minister of health and family welfare shall issue guidelines to all registered public and private hospitals to not detain a bystander or Good Samaritan. Hospitals shall not demand payment for registration and admission costs from a bystander or Good Samaritan except when s/he is a family member or relative of the injured.
Lack of response or denial of medical care (treatment) to an injured by a doctor in an emergency situation shall be treated as “professional misconduct” and disciplinary action shall be taken against such doctors.
All hospitals shall publish a charter in Hindi, English and vernacular language of the State or Union Territory at their entrance to the effect that they shall not detain a bystander or Good Samaritan or ask depositing money from them for the treatment of a victim.
If a bystander or Good Samaritan desires, the hospital shall provide an acknowledgement to them, confirming that an injured person was brought to the hospital and the time and place of such occurrence.
Notified in official gazette on May 12, 2015
‘Tamil Nadu has taken measures for road safety’
DC caught up with Piyush Tiwari who was in town to meet the state government officials on enacting a Good Samaritan law
Q.Why Tamil Nadu? Was it because it records maximum number of accidents?
That is one of the reasons. But, more than the accidents, Tamil Nadu has been quite forthcoming. It has taken several proactive steps in the last one year on the issue of road safety. We chose Tamil Nadu as well as Karnataka in the south and Delhi and Rajasthan in the north.
Q.The notification lacks legal teeth. It is not binding on the hospitals and cops. Where does it start?
True. It is only a guideline now and it lacks legal teeth. Our mission is to start a public debate and sensitize the people so that it will influence the government. We want the states to enact a state specific Good Samaritan laws. We have started with the four aforesaid states. Once they do it, it will be easy to persuade the Centre to bring a Central legislation.
Q.You (Savelife Foundation) have done a national study on the issue. What were the findings like?
We learnt that three out of four people do not volunteer to help people injured in road accidents for various reasons. Also, we found that 88 per cent of the respondents of our study who were unlikely to assist injured victims were reluctant to help for fear of legal hassles, including repeated police questioning and court.
Q. Any shortcomings in the existing guideline…
The guideline is silent on grievance redressal mechanism. It does not tell where Good Samaritans ought to appeal if they are harassed by police or compelled to reveal identity or make payment at hospitals.
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( Source : deccan chronicle )
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