Heavy fines for neglecting traffic rules with new motor vehicle act

NEW DELHI: The new Motor Vehicle Amendment Act, 2019, which was tabled in the Lok Sabha on July 15 has been approved and is currently being implemented across India. With this amendment, it is clear that the government is taking negligence to traffic safety norms more seriously due to the growing number of accidents throughout the nation. According to the road transport and highways ministry, half a million accidents are reported in India every year, in which 150,000 people lose their lives.

The salient points of the new motor vehicles amendment act are:

• It is now mandatory to hold an Aadhar card in order to avail a driving license and vehicle registration card.
• The government will now be providing a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to families of victims of hit-and-run cases. Currently, the amount is just Rs 25,000.
• In traffic violations by juveniles, the guardians or owner of the vehicle would be held responsible unless they prove the offence was committed without their knowledge or they tried to prevent it. The registration of the motor vehicle in question will be cancelled. The juvenile will be tried under the Juvenile Justice Act.
• The bill will protect those who get caught up with accidents but come forward to help accident victims. They will be protected from civil or criminal liability. It will be optional for them to disclose their identity to the police or medical personnel.
• The fine for rash driving has been raised from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000.
• Driving without license would lead to a minimum fine of Rs 5,000 against the presently set Rs 500.
• You can be fined anywhere between Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 for over speeding against the presently set amount of Rs 400.
• One can be fined Rs 1000 for driving without wearing seatbelts.
• Talking on a mobile phone while driving will attract a fine of Rs 5,000, up from Rs 1,000.
• A Motor Vehicle Accident Fund will provide compulsory insurance cover to all road users in India for certain types of accidents.
• Alteration of vehicles to incorporate specially-abled people has now become mandatory.
• Contractors, consultants and civic agencies will be accountable for faulty design, construction or poor maintenance of roads leading to accidents.
• A time limit of six months has been specified for an application of compensation to the Claims Tribunal with regard to road accidents.
• The cap on liability for third-party insurance which was set at Rs 10 lakh in case of death and Rs 5 lakh in case of serious injuries has now been dissolved.
• Driving license renewal time has been incremented from one month to one year.
• The government can decommission vehicles which do not meet the required environmental standards, attracting a fine of up to Rs 500 crore for manufacturers in case of sub-standard components or engine.

Although no official data has been released as of yet, the results of the new, more stringent norms can be observed, at least on the roads of Delhi. Early cases of people getting fined copious amounts has triggered more serious attention to the traffic rules and regulation by people. Punjab, Telangana, Tamil Nadu amongst others have yet to impose the elevated fines as of September 6.