The Motor Vehicles Amendment act was finally passed recently. One of the
key features of the act is the hefty penalties for most of the offences. Here
is a roundup of all the penalties. Every year in India, around 1,50,000 lives are lost in road accidents alone according to Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. Annually, almost 5,00,000 road accidents take place in the country. Despite there being stringent rules and regulations, there are innumerable cases of traffic rule violations everyday across India. The current NDA Government passed the new Motor Vehicles Amendment Act, 2019 in both the houses during the monsoon session. Through thisamendment, the existing rules are madestricter compared to the 30 year old MV act 1988. Penalties & finesfor various violations have also been increased substantially in order to reducethe number of violations. Standards for vehicles, grants, permits and licensesrelated to motor vehicles have also been covered under this amendment. Thisstory aims to cover the important offences and penalties every person whodrives or owns a vehicle should know within India as per the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019. Violations for which penalty has not been mentioned Public Transport/State/Contract Carriage Unauthorized Driving & Driving License Modification of a Motor Vehicle Violating Speed Limits Drunken Driving Dangerous Driving – Jumping Red light, Wrong Direction driving, using mobile phones etc. Accidents & Penalty for not stopping a Vehicle Vehicle in Unsafe condition Air & Noise Pollution Vehicle without Registration & Insurance Driving without Helmet Offence committed by a Juvenile Obstructing the Traffic by leaving Vehicle unattended Power to arrest for certain offences Provisions for ‘Good Samaritans’ now part of the act The act has also been praised for encouraging ‘Good Samaritans’– people whoextend help to accident victims- by protecting them from any civil or criminalaction and giving them a choice whether or not to reveal their identity. States can increase these penalties The objective of these amendments is to bring down the number of roadaccidents and loss of lives that take place as a result of it. The increasingnumber of vehicles and hence, the vehicle density on roads only increasepossibilities of accidents. In 2017, there have been reports of India having toppedthe list of countries in fatalities due to road accidents. In order to curbthis, the penalties to be paid for various offences have been increased 5 to 10times compared to the existing provisions as per the 1988 act. In addition, theState Governments have been authorized to increase the prescribed penaltieswith a multiplier, not less than one and not greater than ten, to be applied toeach fine. Different multipliers may be applied to different classes of motorvehicles. The prime criticism of these amendments, by the opposition, was that the Central Government was usurping powers of the State Governments. Featured Image: Motor Vehicles Amendment Act