Auto-rickshaws drivers are in trouble, a recent near-fatal accident involving a 5-year-old child has prompted the Delhi High Court to take a more holistic look into the way auto drivers use the road. Reports on TNN, suggest that the Delhi High Court has taken up the cudgel against the rash and sometimes ignorant driving habits that autorickshaws seem to unilaterally agree. In this review, the Delhi High court zeroed in on one of the major causes of accidents, and have directed the Traffic Police to begin taking action against those autorickshaws that ply the streets with their mirror turned in.
If you have used an auto in recent times, you would have noticed that it is rare to find a rickshaw with its mirrors folded outward. Aside from the fact that the driver is — as a result– oblivious to the traffic movement outside the autorickshaw, it also allows the autorickshaw driver to peer into the back seat at their passengers. A distraction for the driver and invasion of privacy of the passenger, both deeply unsettling purposes are achieved. Now although, rickshaws with their mirrors folded the wrong way will be fined, with the High court directing the transport department to ensure that exterior rearview mirrors are, at all time, fixed outside the body of the vehicle.
Judge Najmi Waziri, also reaffirmed that despite the fact that the personal interest of Auto Drivers so as to avoid breaking their rear-view mirrors is subservient to the larger public interest that can & should be served if the rear view mirrors are folded out. To make it even clearer, the Justice has further asked that a Certificate of fitness should not be given to auto rickshaws unless the mirrors are welded in the outside position. Â The ruling was prompted by an incident in which an auto ran over a child in Delhi. Miraculously, the child has survived the incident and managed to open the eyes of the court to the casual indiscretions that these drivers make, that put others lives at risk.
Source: TNN
