India’s Motor Vehicle Bill revised, penalties hiked

The Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill – 2016 has increased the dues on legal violators of the Bill in an attempt to bring a more serious atmosphere in

By autoX Editorial | on August 4, 2016 Follow us on Autox Google News

The Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill – 2016 has increased the dues on legal violators of the Bill in an attempt to bring a more serious atmosphere in regard to road safety violations.

With a vision of improving road safety, the Union Cabinet has revised the Motor Vehicle Bill with higher penalties and a few new legal offences in an attempt to impose a more serious atmosphere to violators of road safety regulations.

The most significant update comes in the form of the revised fine for hit and run cases and road accident fatalities. In case of hit and run incidents the fine has gone up from Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 2 lakh while compensation for road accident fatalities has gone up to Rs. 10 lakh.

Other important revisions in penalties in the revised Motor Vehicle Bill come in the form of fine for drunk driving being hiked from Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 10,000. Rs. 10,000 is also the penalty for a few other road safety violations, such as - driving despite disqualification and not providing way for emergency vehicles.

Road safety violators in relation to over speeding will now have to shell out Rs. 1,000 for LMVs and Rs. 2,000 for medium passenger vehicles while not wearing a helmet will get you a fine of Rs. 1,000 and can get your driver’s license disqualified for three months.

The new bill also factors in offences committed by enforcing authorities who will have to pay twice the penalty under the relevant section.

Here is the full list of proposed amendments in various penalties under the Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill 2016:

Section Offence Old Provision / Penalty New Proposed Provision /
Minimum Penalties
177 General Rs. 100 Rs. 500
New 177A Rules of road regulation violation Rs. 100 Rs. 500
178 Travel without ticket Rs. 200 Rs. 500
179 Disobedience of orders of authorities Rs. 500 Rs. 2,000
180 Unautorized use of vehicles without licence Rs. 1,000 Rs. 5,000
181 Driving without licence Rs. 500 Rs. 5,000
182 Driving despite disqualification Rs 500 Rs 10,000
182 B Oversize vehicles New Rs. 5,000
183 Over speeding Rs. 400 Rs. 1,000 for LMV, Rs. 2,000 for Medium Passenger Vehicles
184 Dangerous driving penalty Rs. 1,000 Upto Rs. 5,000
185 Drunken driving Rs. 2,000 Rs. 10,000
189 Speeding / Racing Rs 500 Rs 5,000
192 A Vehicle without permit upto Rs 5,000 Upto Rs 10,000
193 Aggregators (violations of licencing conditions) New Rs 25,000 to Rs. 1,00,000
194 Overloading Rs 2,000 and Rs. 1,000 per extra tonne Rs 20,000 and Rs. 2,000 per extra tonne
194 A Overloading of passengers Rs. 1,000 per extra passenger
194 B Seat belt Rs. 100 Rs. 1,000
194 C Overloading of two wheelers Rs. 100 Rs. 2,000, Disqualification for 3 months for licence
194 D Helmets Rs. 100 Rs. 1,000, Disqualification for 3 months for licence
194 E Not providing way for emergency vehicles New Rs. 10,000
196 Driving Without Insurance Rs. 1,000 Rs. 2,000
199 Offences by Juveniles New Guardian / owner shall be deemed to be guilty. Rs 25,000 with 3 yrs imprisonment. For Juvenile to be tried under JJ Act. Registration of Motor Vehicle to be cancelled
206 Power of Officers to impound documents Suspension of driving licenses u/s 183, 184, 185, 189, 190, 194C, 194D,194E
210 B Offences committed by enforcing authorities Twice the penalty under the relevant section

Making things more convenient for people, the revised bill will also allow facilities to obtain learning driver’s licenses online. Although considering the wrath of untrained drivers on the road, this may not be the best idea. In this context, the bill also arguably scraps the requirement for educational qualifications for a transport license.

But allowing people to increase the validity of their driving license online would be helpful. But then again who will be taking responsibility for people with physical limitations renewing their licenses online remains to be seen.

Also read: Vehicle dependability improves in India – JD Power

Tags: Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill 2016

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