The ministry of road transport and highways recently notified that the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Amendment Act 2019 that will be applicable with effect from September 1, 2019. These provisions require no further amendments
in the Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989.
in the Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989.
It may be noted that two years after its introduction in the Parliament, the Rajya Sabha passed the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019 earlier this year to amend the 30-year old motor vehicle law in order to improve road safety, raise penalties for traffic violations, curb Regional Transport Office (RTO) corruption and more.
The bill focused on increasing penalty for traffic violations by five to ten times, depending upon the nature of the offence. Under the amendments, significant penalties for manufacturers failing to comply with vehicle standards can go up to Rs 100 crore and a year in jail.
Among the provisions, the most important ones are the provisions for enhanced penalties. The 63 clauses notified by the government deal with penalties, licences, registration and National Transport Policy, among others. For the remaining provisions, the ministry has initiated the process of formulating draft rules. As and when the process is completed, the relevant provisions would be notified for implementation.
(Check all provisions here)
The increased penalties are expected to act as a deterrent against traffic violations. Stricter provisions in respect of offences like juvenile driving, drunken driving, driving without a licence, dangerous driving, over-speeding, overloading etc. Stricter provisions for helmets have been introduced along with provisions for electronic detection of violations.
Under the new rules, Rs 10,000 fine will be charged for not giving way to emergency vehicles such as an ambulance. Rs 10,000 fine will be levied for driving despite disqualification. Aggregators violating driving licences will be fined up to Rs 1 lakh. The provisions also include penalties in the range of Rs 1,000- 2,000 for over-speeding. Driving without insurance will be punishable with Rs 2,000 fine. Driving without helmets will attract Rs 1,000 fine and 3-month suspension of licence.
Also, guardian/owner will be now be deemed to be guilty in case of road offence by juveniles. The registration of the vehicle will also be cancelled. Traffic violations will attract a penalty of Rs 500 as opposed to Rs 100 earlier, while disobedience of orders of authorities will attract a minimum penalty of Rs 2,000. Penalty for unauthorised use of vehicles without a licence will be Rs 5,000.
People driving without a licence will have to shell out the same amount. Those found driving despite disqualification would be fined Rs 10,000. Penalty for dangerous driving has also been increased from Rs 1,000 earlier to Rs 5,000. Drunken driving under will now attract Rs 10,000 fine.
