The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has taken another good step to safeguard good samaritans, after the insertion of section 134A, namely “Protection of good Samaritans” in the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act in 2019. 

In 2019, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways published the rules for the protection of good Samaritans, which stated that a Good Samaritan shall not be liable for any civil or criminal action for any injury to or death of the victim of an accident involving a motor vehicle.

In reference to this, the ministry said, ”Now, it has been felt that there is a need to motivate the general public through cash awards and certificates to help the road accident victims in an emergency situation and to boost their morale, and also to inspire and motivate others to save lives of the road accident victims.”

In the new scheme launched by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, on Monday, anyone who saves the life of a road accident victim by rushing them to a hospital within the “golden hour” will be rewarded for their effort. Golden hour is the one hour period after a traumatic injury and there is the highest likelihood of preventing death by providing prompt medical care to the victim.

The scheme which come in effect from October 15 this year, states that an amount of Rs. 5000 per incident will be to each Good Samaritan for bringing a road accident victims to the hospital within an hour of serious injury. 

The scheme has been launched to motivate people through cash awards and certificates to help the road accident victims in an emergency situation and to boost their morale, and also to inspire and motivate others to save lives of the road accident victims. In order to prevent misuse of this scheme, an individual Good Samaritan can be awarded a maximum five times in a year, as per the guidelines.

Often, people who met with road accidents die because the help that comes from the authorities is too late. Meanwhile, the general public who witness such accidents hold back, fearing that if they rush to hospitalise the victim, they may end up in a legal tussle afterwards. 

A certificate will also be given along with the cash prize. Besides, the ministry also said that apart from this award, 10 most noble helpers at the national level will be given an award of Rs one lakh each.

Similar rewards have been announced by several state governments in the past, but a national level scheme would definitely motivate the general public and deaths due to road accidents will decrease massively in the long run.

According to the government, a total of  366,138 road accidents occurred in India during the calendar year 2020, causing 131,714 deaths.