Motor Vehicle Act, 1988

A scooter hits a cyclist on a city road and drives off. The cyclist is in hospital, the driver is unknown, and nobody can say which insurer, if any, stands behind the scooter. Chapters XI and XII of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 were written for exactly this kind of morning: they make third-party insurance compulsory, tell the insurer what it must pay, and send the victim to a special tribunal. How do they fit together?

In two minutes

Chapter XI of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988 makes third-party insurance compulsory (s.146), sets what a policy must cover (s.147), obliges the insurer to satisfy awards despite being entitled to avoid, except on limited grounds (s.150), gives fixed-sum compensation without proof of fault (s.164), hit and run relief (s.161) and a Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (s.164B); Chapter XII sends claims to Motor Accidents Claims Tribunals (ss.165–175).

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