Motor Vehicle Act Amendment-described ( New rules and Fines) By Sakshi Kothari

The fatalities due to the road accidents in India are among the highest in the world around 1.46 lakh annually. The Bill is considered to be important legislation as it seeks to amend the thirty year old law .It seeks to weed out corruption ,improve road safety and usher the use of technology to regulate traffic. It includes the provision for mandating automated fitness testing for vehicles , which in turn is aimed at improving the roadworthiness of the vehicles and in reducing corruption in the transport department. It has also made Aadhar mandatory for getting a driver’s license and vehicle registration . The Bill, however ,is opposed by various opposition parties curtailing the powers of the state governments and favoring corporates.

Motor Vehicle(Amendment) Bill,2019,introduced in the Lok Sabha on by Minister for road transport and highways. Nitin Gadkari seeks to amend the Motor Vehicle Act,1988.

Centre has increased the minimum compensation in hit and run cases Rs.2,00,000 in the case of death ,and Rs.50,000 in the case of grievous injury from the previous amounts of Rs.25,000 and Rs.12,500 respectively . It has also introduced a Motor vehicle Accident Fund, to provide compulsory insurance cover to all road users in India. It is also working towards developing a scheme for cashless treatment of road accident victims during the golden hour. The bill also provides for the protection from any civil or legal action against the “Good Samaritans” who provide assistance to the victims at the scene of the accidents.

It has also raised the penalties for the offences covered under the Act ,ranging from driving under influence to non-compliance of safety standards by vehicles. The bill also provides for all the setting up a road safety board which would advise the central and state governments on the varied issues relating to road safety and traffic management including registration and licensing standards for road safety and promotion of new vehicle technology. It also seeks to fix liability of contractors for faulty road design ,if the contractors or authorities fail to follow prescribed road designs and standards and their failures results in injury or death of a person ,they will be held responsible for the same. No such provision existed earlier.

Amendments in Motor Vehicle Act by the parliament was done by 28 th August 2019 but in enforcement or effect from 1 st September 2019.

According to the Ministry of transport, “new penalties have been introduced in case of violations of road regulations”. Strict penalty laws are applicable on the situation like racing and speeding, drunken driving, offences related to accident, Dangerous driving.

In Dangerous Driving, the imprisonment of 6 months to 1 year and/or fine Rs.1,000 and Rs.5,000 for the first Offence and imprisonment up to 2 years and/or fine up to Rs.10,000 for second offence.

In case of Drunken Driving, the imprisonment of 6 months and/or fine up to Rs.10,000 for the first Offence and imprisonment up to 2 years and/or fine up to 15,000 for second offence.

In case of offences related to accident , the imprisonment of 6 months and/or fine up to Rs.5,000 for the first Offence and imprisonment up to 1 years and/or fine up to 10,000 for second offence.

In case of racing and speeding, the imprisonment of one month and/or fine up to Rs.500 for the first Offence and imprisonment up to 1 month and/or fine up to 10,000 for second offence.

Furthermore, Before the amendment “ penalty for offenses where no penalty is specifically provided” , the fine imposed were Rs.100 for the first offence and Rs.300 for the second/subsequent offences but after the amendment the fine imposed are Rs. 500 for the first offence and Rs. 1,500 for the second/subsequent offences.

In case of violation of road regulations, the fines imposed from Rs. 500 to Rs.1,000.

In case of Travelling without ticket in the transport buses, the penalty amounts to Rs.500.

In case of disobedience of orders and authority and refusal to share information, the penalize for Rs.2,000.

In case of unauthorized use of vehicles without license, the amount increased by Rs.5,000.

In case of Driving without License, fine amounting to Rs.5,000.

In case of Driving despite qualification , penalize for Rs.10,000.

In case of over speeding, the previous charged amount for Rs.400 but newly changes for Rs 1,000 – Rs 2,000 for light vehicle and Medium passengers or goods vehicles and impounding driving license for second/subsequent offence, fine impose for Rs.2,000-Rs.4,000 .

In case of Driving when mentally and physically unfit, the person is compel to pay Rs.1,000 for first offence and Rs.2,000 for second/subsequent offence.

In case of Driving uninsured Vehicle, the person is penalize for Rs.2000 and imprisonment up to three months for the first offence and fine for Rs. 4,000 and imprisonment up to 3months for the second /subsequent offence.

In case of causing obstruction to free flow of traffic, penalize for Rs.500.

In case of taking vehicle without lawful activity and seizing Motor vehicle by force, the fines
imposed increased by Rs. 5,000.

Rather these fines imposed there are also certain provisions for failure to use safety belt, excess carrying of passengers, violation of safety measures for motorcycle drivers and pillion drivers, usage of phone in silent zones or while driving and failure to allow free passage of emergency vehicles.

In case when minor ,it is held for driving motor cycle or any two wheeler vehicle , As per the newly section inserted 199A and 199B, the juvenile will be fined up to Rs.25000 and face imprisonment up to three years , As per the act, minor child will not be able to retain the leaning license till the age of 25 . As per the act, there will be an annual increase of fines up to by 10 percent.

Changes in the driving license from 1 st September being enforced. In case of changing residence address it can be done online or to any registering authority within the state .

In case of expiry driving license, an individual can apply within the one year period of time or up to one after its expiry. For an instance, the driving license will get expired in the month of April 2020, then an individual can apply for renewal from April 2019 till April 2021. If an individual apply after one year then again the driving license test will be conducted.

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