New Delhi, August 31: The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 will be implemented from Sunday, September 1. The Narendra Modi government brought the new Motor Vehicle Act with an aim to improve road safety. The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 might force drivers to adhere to traffic rules as increased penalties will prove as deterrence to violate traffic rules. Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill, 2019 Passed in Rajya Sabha.

The act was passed in Parliament's recently concluded monsoon session. Earlier this month, President Ram Nath Kovind also gave his assent to the bill. According to the new bill, drink & drive and not giving way to an emergency vehicle will invite a penalty of Rs 10,000, imprisonment, or both. Motor Vehicle Act 2019 Will Improve Road Safety: IRF.

Here is list of penalties under the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019:

Section/ Offence Old Penalty New Penalty (Minimum)
General (177) Rs 100 Rs 500
Rules of road regulation violation (new 177A) Rs. 100 Rs 500
Travelling without a ticket (178) Rs 200 Rs 500
Disobedience of orders of authorities (179) Rs 500 Rs 2000
Unauthorized use of vehicles without licence (180) Rs 1000 Rs 5000
Driving without licence (181) Rs 500 Rs 5000
Driving without qualification (182) Rs 500 Rs 10,000
Oversized vehicles (182B) New Rs 5000
Over speeding (183) Rs 400 Rs 1000 for LMV, Rs 2000 for Medium Passenger Vehicle
Dangerous driving penalty (184) Rs. 1,000 Upto Rs 5000
Drunken driving (185) Rs 2000 Rs 10,000
Speeding/ Racing (189) Rs 500 Rs 5,000
Vehicle without permit (192A) Upto Rs 5000 Upto Rs 10,000
Aggregators (violations of licencing conditions) (193) New Rs 25,000 to Rs 1,00,000
Overloading (194) Rs 2,000, and Rs 1,000 per extra tonne Rs 20,000, and Rs 2,000 per extra tonne
Overloading of Passengers (194A) N.A. Rs 1000 per extra passenger
Seat Belt (194 B) Rs 100 Rs 1,000
Overloading of two-wheelers (194 C) Rs 100 Rs 2,000 , Disqualification of licence for 3 months
Not providing way for emergency vehicles (194E) New Rs 10,000
Driving without insuarance (196) Rs 1,000 Rs 2,000
Offences by Juveniles (199) New Guardian/ Owner shall be deemed guilty. Rs 25,000 with 3 years imprisonment. Juvenile to be tried under JJ Act. Registration of Motor Vehicle to be cancelled.
Power of officers to impound documents (206) N.A. Suspension of driving licence under sections 183, 184, 185, 189, 190, 194C, 194D, 194E,
Offences committed by enforcing authorities (210B) N.A. Twice the penalty under the relevant section

While commenting on the successful passage of the bill passed in the Rajya Sabha, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari had said, “This is not only a Motor Vehicle Act, but also a road safety bill. I believe it'll cause a decline in accidents, the passing of this bill is a tribute to those who lost their lives in accidents.” According to Gadkari, each year over five lakh accidents happen in our country, causing 1.5 lakh deaths, and this act will change the data.

The bill was earlier introduced in the Lower House in August, 2016, but it lapsed after the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha. After coming to power in 2019, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government introduced the bill in the lower house on July 23, later in the month, it was also passed by the Rajya Sabha.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 31, 2019 08:10 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).