Delhi LG Vinai Saxena Writes To FM Nirmala Sitharaman, Demands Higher Insurance Premiums For Vehicles Involved In Repeat Traffic Violations

Delhi LG (Lieutenant Governor) Vinai Saxena on Wednesday (September 25) wrote to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman demanding to link insurance premiums of vehicles to the number of traffic violations recorded against the vehicle.

"As per the ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH), India recorded over 4.37 lakh road accidents in 2022, resulting in approximately 1.55 lakh fatalities. Notably, over-speeding accounted for nearly 70% of these accidents, while violations such as red-light jumping contributed significantly to fatal accidents," the LG said in his letter.

"Analysis of accident data by the World Bank indicates that vehicles with multiple traffic violations have a 40% higher risk of being involved in fatal crashes compared to those with a clean driving record. Delhi's own accident statistics corroborates these findings. According to a 2023 report of the Delhi Traffic Police, 60% of fatal road accidents involved vehicles that had previously been fined for traffic violations, primarily over speeding and red-light jumping," the LG wrote in the letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

"Vehicles with more than three traffic challans in a given year were found to have a disproportionately high involvement in severe accidents," the LG stated in his letter.

"There is an obvious co-relation between repeat traffic offences and the risk of accidents. I would therefore suggest that a layered insurance premium system based on the frequency and severity of traffic violations as recorded in MoRTH's VAHAN database may be introduced. A vehicle which has been frequently challenged for offences such as over-speeding, red light jumping and dangerous driving should be obligated to pay higher insurance premium. This financial deterrent would encourage a better driving behavior," the LG argued in his letter.