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The Madras high court has recently observed that it is now time to re-evaluate the assumption that, in a motor vehicle accident the primary responsibility is placed on the driver of the bigger vehicle. This observation was made by Justice Murali Shankar, in a case where a two wheeler had collided with a state transport vehicle due to their own negligence. The court observed that: It is high time for the stakeholders to re-evaluate our thinking in cases of road accidents where a bigger and smaller vehicle is involved, where the liability is fixed on the driver of the bigger vehicle. As FIRs have been registered against the driver of the large vehicle in most cases and inquiries are carried out in such a manner that the driver is responsible for the crash. It is also high time for all those who deal with motor accident claims to sympathetically examine our mentality in recognising the condition of the wounded survivor or the legal heirs of the deceased victim and granting compensation in the incidents that happened in violation of the Laws and Regulations.
In this case, the Court dealt with an appeal filed by the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) which opposed a 2015 order ordering the TNSTC to pay Rs 6.62 lakh with 7.5 percent interest per annum. as compensation for the death of a person: Govindaraju, due to a crash between a bus and a motorcycle, The TNSTC argued that the crash happened due to the fault of the motorcycle-driver. The Court was told that at the time of the crash, the scooter was carrying three adult passengers (apart from the driver) and that it had come to the bus from the wrong side of the road (right side) after a lorry had overtaken it. On the other hand, family members (claimants) of Govindaraju alleged that it was due to the incompetence of the bus-driver that the accident occurred. However, the High Court found out that because the motorcycle is usually built for two riders, where more than two passengers are present, it is already an offense under the motor vehicle act.
The Bench then decided that the passengers (four grown-up students) and the motorcycle driver were guilty of negligent driving. The Court then allowed the appeal of the TNSTC in part, ruling that the plaintiffs should be responsible for 50 percent of the compensation award.
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