Odisha Police seeks higher motor insurance premium for traffic violators

BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to encourage drivers to comply with traffic rules and to prevent road accidents,

Odisha Police

has proposed to the state government to introduce a higher motor insurance premium for violators.

Director general of police

Sunil Kumar Bansal

, who was present in a meeting chaired by chief secretary

Suresh Mahapatra

to review the road safety situation in the state, has suggested that a higher motor insurance premium will serve as a deterrent for rash drivers.

Bansal said in the meeting that a proposal should be sent by the government to the appropriate authority for levying higher insurance premium on vehicles violating traffic rules frequently, so that the drivers are discouraged from flouting road laws.

The proposed traffic violation premium would be charged in addition to the existing own damage, third party and personal accident premiums offered by the motor insurance companies.

“A system should be in place to identify risky and safe drivers and maintain their profiles. The nature of traffic violations of each driver should be linked to the DL and shared with the motor insurers. A lower premium should be offered to safe drivers and a higher premium to the risky drivers. Whenever they approach the insurer for renewal of the insurance, they would be asked to pay the traffic violation premium,” Bansal told TOI.

The

DGP

said the risk profile of a driver should be reviewed and modified every year. If a driver, who was found to be risky and penalised several times in a particular year, improves his driving skills and complies with the traffic rules, he can be classified as a safe driver.

There has been a steady rise in the number of fatalities from 2014 (3,931 deaths) to 2021 (5,081 deaths), an increase of about 29% during the period in Odisha. However, the transport department is likely to buck the disturbing trend this year. Accidents and fatality rates came down in January and February this year compared to the corresponding two months in 2021. At least 961 accidents and 456 deaths were reported in January this year compared to 1,104 accidents and 492 deaths in last January. While 1,027 accidents and 466 deaths occurred in February 2021, the figures came down to 843 accidents and 403 deaths this February.