- Lok Sabha has passed the Motor Vehicle Amendment bill 2019
- Awaiting approval from Rajya Sabha
- Similar bill was passed by Lok Sabha in 2017 which lapsed
The violation of traffic rules could cost you much more in the coming days as Lok Sabha has passed a new Motor Vehicle Amendment bill for 2019. In order to curb road fatalities and increasing violation of traffic rules by motorists, the changes in the bill propose to impose increased penalties on disregarding the rules. However, for the bill to come into effect, it is pending approval from the Rajya Sabha.
The difference between the currently imposed fines and the proposed ones is significant. For instance, while the penalty for riding without helmet currently stands at Rs 100, with the implementation of the new bill, the fine will be hiked to Rs 1000 followed by suspension of license for three months. Likewise, the current fine of Rs 500 for driving without a license will go up to a hefty sum of Rs 5000, and drunk drivers will be charged somewhere between Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000, as opposed to the current fine of Rs 2000.
Besides the hike in penalties, the new bill also focuses on facilitating grant of online learning license along with simpler insurance provisions for providing better and faster help to the accident victims. Furthermore, the new bill also proposes to increase the relaxation time for renewal of driving license from one month to one year before and after the expiry date. It also seeks the removal of minimum educational qualification for someone to acquire a driving license, provided one holds a certificate from a driving school.
Notably, Lok Sabha had passed a similar bill in April 2017 which failed to receive approval from Rajya Sabha and lapsed. Now, the difference between old and proposed penalties for various violations has been mentioned in the table below.
