Break Rules & Pay Heavy Fine: New Motor Laws Come Into Effect Today As Cops Eye Errant Drivers
The provisions of the Motor Vehicles Amendment Act 2019 have been notified by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and include heavy monetary penalties for not abiding by the traffic rules.
Violating traffic regulations is almost a norm in India and no matter which part of the country one may be living in, the utter disregard for such rules is visible on an almost daily basis. Starting today, those who violate traffic rules will be penalized and face hefty fines on a scale much stricter than what had been in existence so far.
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Why the change?
Amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act were passed by the Parliament recently but most come into effect from today, i.e. September 1. The single meaning of this, put simply, is that if you are violating traffic norms, rules and regulations, you are going to have to cough up a much greater fine and may face a much longer imprisonment than what had been in existence so far.
The provisions of the Motor Vehicles Amendment Act 2019 have been notified by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and include heavy monetary penalties for not abiding by the traffic rules.
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As many as 63 clauses of the Motor Vehicles Amendment Act 2019 come into effect from September 1, 2019. The government¡¯s aim, it says, is to improve road safety through new provisions. The Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has asserted that roughly 1.5 lakh people are killed in road accidents every year in India. The new provisions will deter people from violating traffic regulations.
What now?
If you were found driving without a license, you would be fined Rs 500 earlier but the provisions that become applicable from today increases this fine ten times to Rs 5000. Further, the penalty for driving after being disqualified has also been increased from Rs 500 to Rs 10,000. For travelling without a ticket, the fine has been enhanced from Rs 200 to Rs 500.The penalty for over-speeding will be between Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,000 for the light motor vehicles, while medium passenger or goods vehicles will have to pay between Rs 2,000 and Rs 4,000.
In the case of drunken driving, the penalty has been increased to imprisonment up to 6 months and/or fine up to Rs 10,000 for the first offence and imprisonment up to 2 years and/or fine of Rs 15,000 for the second offence.
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A penalty of Rs 2,000 can also be levied on you in case you disobey government orders and refuse to share the information requested with the authorities. Prior to this, the amount of penalty in such a case was Rs 500. Then,unauthorised use of vehicles without licence will cost you Rs 5,000, up from previous penalty amount of Rs 1,000.
Penalty in case of driving when mentally or physically unfit to drive has been increased to Rs 1,000 from Rs 200 for first-time offense. For second and subsequent offenses, the penal amount has been increased from up to Rs 500 to Rs 2,000.
What should you do?
The simplest and most logical thing to do is to follow traffic rules so that you do not find yourself in a circumstance when you have to pay these fines, many of which may actually be greater than your monthly fuel budget.
We hear of road accidents and deaths almost on a regular basis. Obeying traffic rules is the best way of going about ensuring the safety of oneself as well as fellow commuters on the road.
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At the same time, as you can see the scale of these changes are enormous and in several cases, these have multiplied from 10 to 20 times in one go, which, well-intentioned though it may be, once again raises questions that the government is simply trying to fill its coffers by robbing people of their money. Why?
Let us understand it like this: Under the watch of the ruling government, the economy is in tatters and is going from bad to worse with every passing day, where job cuts are almost at its peak, inflation high, GDP low and people are reeling under the pressure of this economic downslide.
As much as one would like to agree with these provisions in principle and the fact that they are well-intentioned, one should also not forget that the ruling government is desperately trying to fill its coffers with the people¡¯s money.
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Also, let us take a look at the condition of roads in our country. Are all accidents because of the fault of the travelers? Is black money not collected on a daily basis at traffic signals? Doesn't an hour of rain create a ruckus and total chaos every time?
So when the government is increasing its earnings manifold by subjecting a population already reeling under the economic downslide, it should also be held responsible and not shy away from answering questions. These are not to deny some remarkable features in the same amendments that are aimed at helping the victims of road accidents, insurance etc but instead to point out that graver problems do exist and they too need attention.
