Laws related to Road Safety and Protection of Good Samaritans in India: A Critical Legal Study

Abstract

India is home to an alarming number of road deaths, topping 150,000 a year, which means more suffering. Due to how uninformed bystanders are of the law, they always shrink from their natural helping instinct. The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019 incorporates Good Samaritan protections as Section134A, will shield voluntary rescuers who are not too negligent in helping victims from civil or criminal liability, building on Supreme Court guidelinesfrom the 2016 SaveLIFE Foundation case. Road safety laws addressed in the Motor Vehicles Act 1988 cover licensing,speed limits,helmets and seatbelts, with its 2019 amendments increasing fines.​ Objective of these laws is to cause ethical standards within a cultural "hit-and-run" social structure, but implementation of them remains in its infancy. Supreme Court directives, such as the 2025 orders for helmet enforcement or infrastructure audits under Section 198A, show pedestrians are not fully protected and states are still straggling to comply. Awareness among police,hospitals, emergency responders and citizens is low, with irregular enforcement undercutting the trust that onlookers place in bystanders. This is shown by national surveys identifying ongoing fears of harassment.​ Despite potential for saving 70000 lives/year, fragmented state actions and inadequate training still hold us back. There is no specific road safety legislation; results from the Motor Vehicles Act have been piecemeal. Reforms include nationwide public awareness campaigns, enforcement through digitized data systems and sub-national audits of state performance consonant with SDGs.​