Motor Vehicles Act Reform and Road Safety Governance in India: A Critical Legal Study

Road safety remains one of the most pressing public policy and legal challenges in India. Despite the enactment of
the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and the transformative reforms introduced through the Motor Vehicles (Amendment)
Act, 2019, India continues to report one of the highest road accident fatality rates globally. This article critically
evaluates the legal and constitutional foundations of motor vehicle regulation in India, with particular emphasis on
road safety governance, compensation jurisprudence, criminal liability, institutional mechanisms such as Motor
Accident Claims Tribunals (MACT), and emerging regulatory challenges relating to electric vehicles and transport
aggregators. The article argues that while the 2019 amendment marked a significant shift toward safer mobility
governance, implementation gaps, procedural delays, and structural weaknesses continue to undermine its
effectiveness. The study proposes a technology-integrated and rights-based reform model to strengthen road safety
governance in India.