Blocking An Ambulance On The Road Will Now Cost You Rs 10,000

Under the amended Motor Vehicles bill, there will be a Rs 10,000 fine for not giving way to emergency vehicles

Bangalore, India: An ambulance belonging to a private hospital tries to make its way through traffic in south Bangalore, India. 

(Photo: iStock)

Anyone blocking an ambulance with their car will now have to think twice before doing it. Because under the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill that has been approved by the government, there will be a Rs 10,000 fine for not giving way to emergency vehicles, according to News 18 Tech and Auto.

The Motor Vehicle Act comes with many changes, including a higher fine for drunk driving, but one of the most notable changes to the act has been increasing the penalty for not giving way to an ambulance on the road to Rs 10,000.

The decision is undoubtedly good. Because many a times patients in critical condition have to wait for the path of an ambulance to clear on the road, thereby losing valuable time.

In 2017, for instance, a seven-year-old boy suffering from high fever lost his life on the way to the hospital, after the ambulance that was taking him got stuck in a traffic jam. This is by no means, the only case of its kind.

In fact, in a social media experiment conducted on the streets of New Delhi, popular YouTuber Varun Pruthi had shown just how callous humans can be, choosing to save their own few minutes, as opposed to saving a life by clearing the path of an ambulance in the case of an emergency.

In that context, heavily fining those who block the path of an ambulance can be a great step. Needless to say, there have been many positive reactions to the move.

But there are legitimate concerns as well.

What do you think of the move? Let us know!