synopsis

  • The petitioner, B. Ramkumar Adityan, said that the rear and the side view mirrors provide a sense of traffic around the vehicle.
  • These mirrors are mandatory fixtures during sale of vehicles under the Motor Vehicles Act and Rules.
  • However, youngsters tend to remove them, which leads to a number of road accidents. 

A public interest litigation has been filed at the Madras High Court, demanding appropriate action against by transport authorities against 2, 3 and four wheelers that do not have side and rear view mirrors.

The petitioner, B. Ramkumar Adityan, said that the rear and the side view mirrors provide a sense of traffic around the vehicle. These mirrors are mandatory fixtures during sale of vehicles under the Motor Vehicles Act and Rules. However, youngsters tend to remove them, which leads to a number of road accidents. 

According to an article published by The Hindu, as per the Road Traffic Accident Statistics, 2015, of the Road Traffic Research Wing, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, two-wheelers were the most vulnerable. In about 1,44,391 accidents, 36,803 people were killed involving two wheelers and 85 % of the victims were male. The most vulnerable age group was 15-24 years. 

Vehicles without these mirrors are penalised in other states. The petitioner said that Tamil Nadu should also follow suit by slapping fines from violators. Taking the petition seriously, the division bench of justices M.Venugopal and Abdul Quddhose directed the transport commissioner to consider the allegations made by the petitioner.