Traffic Rule Breakers Will Now Pay Up To 10 Times More, New Motor Vehicle Act On Its Way

Changes are underway for the Motor Vehicles Bill as new reports reveal that the Road Transport and Highways ministry is set to approve several amendments to the act. In a bid to make the Indian roads safer, the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 will have renewed provisions as well as penalties for motorists in the country.

The new bill has already been passed in the Lok Sabha and is now seeking approval in the Rajya Sabha. Once it is passed, radical changes will be seen in the laws governing the movement on Indian roads.

One of these changes includes the necessity of Aadhaar card for driving licenses as well as registration certificates of the vehicles. Even the licensing authorities will be computerised in a bid to establish a more uniform registration process across the country.

There is also a National Road Safety Board on the cards, as per a report by ET, along with an automated fitness testing for transport vehicles in an effort to curb the vehicular emission. The bill is also expected to introduce directives for third party insurers as well as cab aggregators.

As for the new penalties for violators, some notable changes include multi-fold increase in fines for violation of traffic rules, charging vehicle owners for accidents/violations caused by juveniles and even holding the vehicle makers accountable for poor build quality of vehicles.

(Representative Image: BCCL)

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Under the new Motor Vehicle Bill, fines can go as high as Rs 1 lakh, which can still be increased by up to 10 times by the state governments. On the other hand, the bill also seeks to protect good samaritans and will introduce several measures to ensure their anonymity.

Here are the most noteworthy measures to be introduced with the new Motor Vehicle Bill:

• Minimum fine for drunk driving will be hiked from Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000.

• Penalty for rash driving will be increased from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000.

• Fine for talking on mobile phone while driving will be raised to Rs 5,000 from Rs 1,000.

• Penalty for speeding will be Rs 1,000-2,000, up from the present Rs 400.

• Fine for not wearing a seat belt while driving will be Rs 1,000, a Rs 100 penalty at present.

• Driving without a licence will attract a minimum fine of Rs 5,000, which is Rs 500 at present.

Apart from the penalties, here are some other mandates set to be in place with the new Motor Vehicle Act:

• Compensation of Rs 2 lakh or more will be provided to the victim's family in cases of hit-and-run fatalities. The current provision is for Rs 25,000.

• Traffic violations by juveniles will see the guardian/owner of the car being held responsible unless they can prove that they tried to prevent it or that the offence was committed without their knowledge. The registration of the vehicle will be cancelled and the juvenile will be tried under the Juvenile Justice Act.

• The time limit for renewal of driving licence will be increased from one month to one year before and after the expiry date.

• Good Samaritans ¡ª those who come forward to help accident victims will be protected from civil or criminal liability. It will be their choice whether to disclose their identity to the police or medical personnel or not.

Some insurance norms to be introduced include:

• The 2016 Bill had put a cap for third-party insurance on the maximum liability, at Rs 10 lakh for death and Rs 5 lakh for grievous injury, which will now be removed.

• A Motor Vehicle Accident Fund will provide compulsory insurance cover to all road users in India, for certain types of accidents.

In addition to all this, the new bill will also hold the manufacturers and civil bodies accountable for vehicle makes and the faulty construction of roads respectively. In case any of the vehicles are found with sub standard components/engine, the manufacturer will have to recall them, while facing a potential fine of up to Rs 500 crore. Similarly, civic agencies, contractors, consultants will be accountable for faulty design, construction or poor maintenance of roads that might lead to accidents.