Drunk Driving Fine Rs 10K Remains, Penalty Amount for Other Traffic Violations Slashed
Mangaluru :Yielding to public demand, the Karnataka government on Saturday announced a cut in penalties for traffic violations under the amended Motor Vehicles (MV) Act 2019. Motorists, who have been up in arms over the high penalties for traffic violations under the new CMV Act 2019, will finally get some relief. The State government has reduced the penalty amount for 18 offences, including driving without registering vehicles, over-speeding, using mobile phones while driving, not wearing helmets, and driving uninsured vehicles, among others.
While riding without helmet was one of the highest offences reported in the state, including Mangaluru, the State government has reduced the penalty by 50%. Driving a car without wearing seat belt has also been slashed by half from Rs 1,000 to Rs 500. For several offences, the State government has cut the penalty by categorizing the vehicles. The Centre had fixed Rs 5,000 for dangerous driving for the first time and Rs 10,000 for subsequent offence. The State government has reduced this by fixing the fine at Rs 1,500 for bikes and autos, Rs 3,000 for cars, and Rs 5,000 for other vehicles. However, it has retained the fee of Rs 10,000 for subsequent offences.
The penalty for using vehicles without registration has been brought from Rs 5,000 to Rs 2,000 for bikes, Rs 3,000 for cars; however, the fine for the ‘other’ category of vehicles fixed by the Central government will continue. The Union government had fixed Rs 10,000 for subsequent violations, but the State government has decided to do away with that. In another major decision, the State has drastically cut down the fine charged for blocking ambulances from Rs 10,000 to Rs 1,000.
Following Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa’s announcement on the revision, a notification was published in the official gazette on Saturday evening. The revised penalties are effective immediately, read the notification. A official in the Sate Transport department had said “In some cases, the penalty has been reduced by 50%, for several offences we have introduced the category of vehicles for first offence and retained the fine fixed by the Central government for the second offence. Public interest has been protected while fixing the fine. Certain offence such as drink and drive, only courts could impose the penalty after enforcement authorities refer the cases to them and the State government could not make modifications to the rules”.
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