A Central scheme aimed at bringing down the fatalities in road accidents by rewarding Good Samaritans who rush the victims to a hospital within the "golden hour" has come into force in Madhya Pradesh, a senior official said on Saturday.
Under the 'Good Samaritan Scheme,' any person who saves the life of a victim of a road accident by rushing him to a hospital or a trauma centre would be rewarded with Rs 5,000.
“The Centre's Good Samaritan Scheme has come into effect on the day of Dussehra (October 15) in Madhya Pradesh'', State Traffic and Road Safety Additional Director General of Police (ADG) G Janardhan told PTI on Saturday.
He said the scheme was aimed at motivating the general public to help the victims of road accidents in emergencies and inspire and motivate others to save innocent lives.
In August, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways informed Parliament that a total of 3,66,138 road accidents occurred in India during the calendar year 2020, causing 1,31,714 deaths.
The ADG said a Good Samaritan is eligible for the cash prize in case the road accident victim sustains brain, spinal cord injuries or is admitted to the hospital for a minimum of three days or undergoes major surgery. Janardhan, who is also ADG, MP Police Training and Research Institute (PTRI), said that each Good Samaritan would also receive a certificate of appreciation along with Rs 5,000 in cash for saving the life of a road accident victim.
An individual could be awarded a maximum of five times in a year, he said. The senior official stressed that the details provided by the person who saves the life of a road accident victim will be used for giving incentives and they won't be used anywhere else.
Explaining the procedure, Janardhan said after a Good Samaritan rushes the victim to the hospital or trauma centre, the doctor concerned will inform the police. Police will write down the details of him in a format and forward it to that district appraisal committee, comprising collector, superintendent of police, chief medical and health officer and Regional Transport Officer (RTO) which will scrutinise the cases and clear the reward.
Asked about the golden hour, the senior police officer said, “ As per the Motor Vehicle Act's section 2 (12 A), it (golden hour) means the period lasting one hour following a traumatic injury during which there is the highest likelihood of preventing death by providing prompt medical care”. In the event of two people saving the life of a road accident victim, the Rs 5,000 reward under this scheme will be divided between them, he said.
“If more than one Good Samaritan saves the life of more than one victim of a fatal accident involving a motor vehicle, the amount of award will be Rs 5,000 per victim saved subject to maximum Rs 5,000 per Good Samaritan,” he said quoting the circular. Janardhan further said the state-level appraisal committee comprises the home department additional chief secretary, health secretary and MP transport commissioner besides ADG Traffic & Road safety.
He said there will be ten national-level awards each year for the worthiest Good Samaritans who will be selected from all those who have been awarded during the entire year and they would additionally be given an award of Rs 1 lakh each, a letter of appreciation and a trophy.