Ahmedabad, September 11: The Gujarat government on Tuesday slashed the penalties laid down by the Centre in the recently amended Motor Vehicles Act (MVA) by almost 90 percent. Reports inform that the state government has justified its move and said that the decision has been taken on compassionate and humanitarian grounds. This move is likely to pave way for other states to lower fines instead of the hefty fines that have been levied by the authorities for violation of traffic rules. New Motor Vehicles Act: List of States Where Hefty Fines Are Not Enforced.

The decision by the state government of Gujarat comes just over a week after the amended Motor Vehicles Act came into effect. The new fines will come into force in Gujarat from September 16. According to a report by TOI, the fine of the traffic offences has been reduced by nearly 25% to 90% than those notified by the Centre. Vadodara Man Pastes All Documents Related to His Royal Enfield on Helmet to Avoid Fine, View Pics.

The amended MVA which calls for a fine of Rs 1,000 for driving without wearing helmet or seat belt, has reduced to Rs 500 in Gujarat. Meanwhile, the fine for obstructing a fire vehicle or ambulance which is Rs 10,000 in the Central act, has been reduced to Rs 1,000 in Gujarat. Also, the fine that has been set Rs 1,000 for triple-riding has been reduced to Rs 100.

The report further adds that the original fines for offenses like drunken driving and jumping traffic lights remain unchanged as these cannot be altered. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani was quoted in the report saying that the priority is not collecting fines or filing cases against people and hence a compassionate approach has been taken to reduce fines.

“No concessions can be granted in cases where people lose their lives. There will be a sustained clampdown against serious traffic offences,” Rupani said. However, under the new MVA Act, states cannot change penalties for many offences, including juvenile driving, drunk driving and jumping traffic light. These fines have not been reduced by Gujarat.

Offences like not wearing seat belt, helmet, triple-riding on two-wheelers, speeding and running vehicles without pollution under control (PUC) certificate and driving without licence and registration certificate empowers officers to collect the fine and let the offender go.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 11, 2019 09:41 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).