New #MotorVehicleAct: Rs. 1,000 for jumping red light, and more
Heftier penalties and fines for traffic rule violations come into force today across the country as 63 clauses of the newly-amended Motor Vehicle Act will be implemented from Sunday. People who violate traffic norms will have to pay significantly hiked fines for offenses like drunk driving, jumping traffic lights, driving without wearing helmets or seat-belts, and use of mobiles among others. Here's more.
Under the new Act, people driving without a license will have to pay a fine hiked from Rs. 500 to Rs. 5,000. The penalty for those driving despite disqualification has been increased to Rs. 10,000 from Rs. 500. Not giving way to emergency vehicles will attract a fine of Rs. 10,000 while taxi-aggregators violating driving license norms can be fined up to Rs. 1,00,000.
Overspeeding will now attract a penalty of Rs. 1,000-2,000 and driving cars without a seat beat will invite a fine hiked from Rs. 100 to Rs. 1,000. For driving without vehicle insurance, the fine is Rs. 2,000. Also, people driving without helmets will have to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000; they can also face a three-month suspension of their license.
Under the new rules, overloading of vehicles will invite a hefty fine of Rs. 20,000. Those driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol will now have to shell out a penalty hiked from Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 10,000. Meanwhile, the fine for jumping traffic lights, which was earlier fixed at Rs. 100, has now been raised by 10 times to Rs. 1,000.
The provisions of the new Act also recommend that parents/guardians or owners of the vehicles in cases involving traffic offenses by underage drivers should be fined Rs. 25,000 and imprisoned for three years. The accused juveniles would also be tried under the Juvenile Justice Act.
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister, Nitin Gadkari, last month said that the new Act, which replaces the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, aims to "instill fear" in those who violate traffic norms. He also said that an "intelligent traffic system" will now monitor traffic-related offenses. Notably, the penalties for traffic violations and general offenses have not been raised since 1988.
