Road mishap victim`s family get Rs 45 lakh compensation

New Delhi: The relatives of a man, who died in a road accident involving a rashly driven car, have been awarded a compensation of over Rs 45 lakh by Motor Accident Claims Tribunal here. The tribunal directed National Insurance Company Ltd, with which the offending car was insured, to pay Rs 45,05,759 to the wife, three children and father of victim Ram Sahai Ram.

It also awarded a compensation of Rs 90,000 to Ram`s wife who had also suffered injuries in the accident. "...The report also shows that the deceased was on the verge of stepping on the central divider when the offending vehicle hit him. Every driver of a motor vehicle is expected to drive his vehicle at such a speed that he is able to stop it in the event of any such eventuality. "In case respondent no 1 (car driver) was driving his car at a controlled speed, then the accident could have been avoided and life of deceased (Ram) would have been saved... "Therefore, for the purposes of inquiry which is being conducted by this tribunal, it is sufficient to hold that the accident was caused by respondent No 1 due to rash and negligent driving," MACT Presiding Officer Arun Bhardwaj said. Ram`s wife Kanti Devi told the court that the accident took place on September 2012, when she and her husband were returning home after purchasing vegetables from market in Dabri area. She said they had almost crossed the road and had reached near the divider in the middle of the road and were about to step on the divider when the offending car being driven in a rash and negligent manner hit them. The woman said the speed of the vehicle was so fast that in spite of her signals to the driver to stop, he could not stop the car. The couple was taken to DDU Hospital by the police. While Ram died during the treatment, she was discharged. The car owner, in his reply, had claimed that no such accident was caused by rash and negligent driving of his driver and it was likely that Ram had met with the accident due to his own fault by carelessly walking on the road.