This refers to M J Antony's column "It just doesn't add up" (Out of Court, February 12). While measures to improve road safety have to be taken and errors in the Motor Vehicles Act need to be corrected, another anomaly is creeping up in the system. The courts have been generous, if not consistent, in settling the compensation amount for road accident victims. This lack of consistency and open-endedness in fixing the compensation amounts are in turn resulting in big losses for the insurance companies which one assumes, make good money by charging more for other services. Also, as things stand now, the compensation that an affected family gets in cases of road, rail, air and boat accidents can vary widely, and be unjust. There is no reason why the life of a person who died in a boat accident is worth a small percentage of a road accident victim.
P Datta Kolkata
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