Motor Vehicle Act

The Motor Vehicle Act of 1988 has recently witnessed a rehaul of several of its key elements and addition of other important points under The Motor vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019. The tone of the amendments is crystal clear. The rules laid down in the Act are to be enforced with a dramatic increase in the fines, penalties and even corresponding jail terms being fixed for various different offences.

Driving Offences for which Incarceration is to be done:

Incarceration means doing jail time or being imprisoned. Under the stricter Motor Vehicle Act there are certain offences for which you can be incarcerated. This will prove to be an even stronger deterrent that high fines and penalties for the following offences:

• Dangerous Driving : under Section 112-183 of the Motor Vehicle Act - which includes riding or jumping a red light is now punishable with or fine of Rs. 1000- Rs. 5000 for the first offence and/or imprisonment from 6 months –1 year and fine up to Rs. 10000 for a second offence along with/ or imprisonment up to 2 years. The earlier fine was ₹100 - 300.
• Speeding/Racing/Rash Driving: under Section 184 of the Motor Vehicle Act is now punishable with ₹5,000 and/or 3-months sentence in prison, along with community service for the first offence, ₹10,000 for subsequent violation and up to 1 year in prison along with community service for a subsequent offence. The earlier fine was ₹500.
• Driving without a valid insurance: under Section 130 read with Section 177 of the Motor Vehicle Act states that the punishment of this offence would be a fine of ₹2,000 and/or 3-months prison along with community service for the first offence would be levied and a fine of ₹4,000 for subsequent offence would be levied. The earlier fine was ₹1,000.
• Driving under influence of intoxicating substances: is now punishable by a fine of ₹10,000 and/or 6 months prison time for the first offence and a fine of ₹15,000 and/or 2 years jail for a repeat violation. The earlier fine was ₹2,000.
• Driving by Juvenile: In case of under age driving – the fine levied is a hefty ₹25,000 and the parent or guardian may be imprisoned for a period of up to 3 years. In addition the registration of the vehicle will be cancelled for 1-year. The juvenile whop has committed the offence will be ineligible for licence until 25 years of age.
• Driving vehicles without permit: carries a fine of ₹10,000 and / or prison of up to 6 months along with community service. The earlier fine was ₹5,000.

Other large increases in fines and penalties for driving offences:

• Driving without license: carries a fine of ₹5,000 and / or community service. The earlier fine was ₹500.
• Overspeeding: carries a fine of ₹1,000-2,000 for LMV and 2,000-4,000 for HMV and / or license may be seized. The earlier fine was ₹400.
• Driving without a Seat belt: carries a fine of ₹1,000 and / or community service. The earlier fine was ₹100.
• Violating road regulations: carries a fine of ₹500- 1,000. The earlier fine was ₹100.
• Talking on mobile while driving: carries a fine of ₹5,000. The earlier fine was ₹1,000.
• Not making way for emergency vehicles: carries a fine of ₹10,000 and / or community service. The earlier fine was ₹500.
• Overloading two wheelers: carries a fine of ₹2,000 and license disqualification and / or community service for 3 months. The earlier fine was ₹100.
• Riding without helmet on two wheelers carries a fine of ₹1,000 and license disqualification and/ or community service for 3 months. The earlier fine was ₹100.
• Driving inspite of being disqualified: carries a fine of ₹10,000 and / or community service. The earlier fine was ₹500.
• Overloading passengers: carries a fine of ₹200 for every extra passenger and / or community service. There was no fine earlier.
• Riding without a ticket on public transport: carries a fine of ₹500. The earlier fine was ₹200.
• Unauthorised use of vehicles without a license: carries a fine of ₹1,000-5,000. The earlier fine was ₹1,000.
• Disobeying orders of authorities: carries a fine of ₹2,000. The earlier fine was ₹500.
• Oversized vehicles: carries a fine of ₹5,000-10,000 and / or community service. There was no fine earlier.
• Overloading Goods: carries a fine of ₹20,000 + ₹2,000 for every extra tonne and/or community service. The earlier fine was ₹2,000 + ₹1,000 for every extra tonne.
• Using horn in silent zone: carries a fine of ₹2,000 for first and ₹4,000 for subsequent offence. There was no fine earlier.
• Driving without registration: carries a fine of ₹5,000 for first and ₹10,000 for subsequent offence. There was no fine earlier.
• Aggregators driving without license: carries a fine of ₹25,000 to ₹1,00,000. There was no fine earlier.

Traffic Offences are no laughing matter anymore. The once brushed aside traffic laws have suddenly become pre-eminent in the minds of all. The stricter laws and stringent penalties that have been laid down is sure to enforce compliance. While the objective of the government remains quite transparently to creating better road rules and awareness 0- this sudden and drastic increase has left people surprised and somewhat aghast.

With road accidents being the number one reason of accidental deaths, it’s a move in the direction of road safety and comfort and confidence in road transport. Once past the teething troubles the new rules when implemented impartially and honestly will create a safer environment for all concerned.

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31st Jan,2019

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27th Dec,2019

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