New Delhi, August 1: In a major overhaul for the transport sector, the Parliament on Wednesday cleared a bill to amend the 30-year old motor vehicle law. With the clearing of the bill in both the houses, the law would improve road safety, raise penalties for traffic violations, curb RTO (Regional Transport Office) corruption across the nation. In short, the Bill aims at providing an efficient, safe and corruption free transport system in the country. 30% Driving Licences in India Are Fake, Nitin Gadkari Informs Lok Sabha.

After the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was passed by Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport & Highways thanked the Members of the House and said the much needed amendments will improve road safety, facilitate citizens in their dealings with transport departments, strengthen rural transport and public transport in India.

Gadkari further added saying that the law would boost last mile connectivity through automation, computerization and online services, adding that, the Bill, will not encroach upon the powers and authorities of the states.

The Bill proposes to increase penalties to act as deterrent against traffic violations and seeks to eliminate corruption in the transport sector:

Here's the Proposed Amendments in Various Penalties under Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill – 2019

Section 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 2000
180 Unautorized use of vehicles without licence Rs 1000 Rs 5000
181 Driving without licence Rs 500 Rs 5000
182 Driving despite disqualification Rs 500 Rs 10,000
182 B Oversize vehicles New Rs 5000
183 Over speeding Rs 400 Rs 1000 for LMV

Rs 2000 for Medium passenger vehicle
184 Dangerous driving penalty Rs 1000 Upto Rs 5000
185 Drunken driving Rs 2000 Rs 10,000
189 Speeding / Racing Rs 500 Rs 5,000
192 A Vehicle without permit upto Rs 5000 Upto Rs 10,000
193 Aggregators (violations of licencing conditions) New Rs 25,000 to

Rs 1,00,000
194 Overloading Rs 2000 and

Rs 1000 per extra tonne

 Rs 20,000 and

Rs 2000 per extra tonne
194 A Overloading of passengers Rs 1000 per extra passenger
194 B Seat belt Rs 100 Rs 1000
194 C Overloading of two wheelers Rs 100 Rs 2000, Disqualification for 3 months for licence
194 D Helmets Rs 100 Rs 1000 Disqualification for 3 months for licence
194 E Not providing way for emergency vehicles New Rs 10,000
196 Driving Without Insurance RS 1000 Rs 2000
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

According to a government release, stricter provisions are being proposed in respect of offences like juvenile driving, drunken driving, driving without licence, dangerous driving, over-speeding, overloading etc. Also, stricter provisions for helmets have been introduced along with provisions for electronic detection of violations. The government further informed that penalty regarding motor vehicles is to be increased by 10 % every year.

The bill to amend the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 was first presented in Lok Sabha in 2016, which was then sent to a Parliamentary Standing Committee. The Committee vetted it and gave certain recommendations. Giving its report in 2017, the Committee agreed to most of the provisions of the bill. Subsequently, it was tabled in the Lok Sabha and cleared on April 10, 2017. The bill was then introduced in the Rajya Sabha and referred to a Select Committee.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 01, 2019 11:24 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).