The Motor Accidents Claim Tribunal (MACT) at the Shivajinagar court has registered an increase in the number of compensation claims filed in last few years. In 2010,1,141 claims were registered with the MACT. It went up to 1,527 cases in 2011. The number touched 1,657 in 2012. This year,1733 cases seeking compensations have been registered with the Tribunal till November 25. The MACT officials,however,said the number of claims registered with the MACT at Shivajinagar Court do not indicate that all these accident happened in the city or in the Pune district. A considerable number of claims are of mishaps outsid the district and that which involved a Pune resident. Advocate Rishikesh Ganu,a lawyer handling motor accident claims cases,attributed the increase to increased frequency of accidents in and around Pune. We have observed that a lot of accidents happen because the motorists dont take safety measures. We have also seen that a good proportion of the accidents happen during the night time and during early mornings,especially on the highways an expressways. Motorists take unnecessary risks with an aim to save the waste of time by avoiding to travel during the day hours, he said. He said that every person owing a vehicle should insure it so as to avoid the problems she might face while seeking compensation. Everybody should have a vehicle insurance and a valid licence, he said.
