Union Cabinet sets New Fines- DUI Rs 10,000, Hit-n-Run Rs 2 Lac
Finally the Union Cabinet chaired by PM Narendra Modi has approved the New Motor Vehicle Bill, with hefty fines that would be slapped on traffic rules offenders: Driving Under Influence (DUI)/Drunk Driving Fine Rs. 10,000; Hit-n-Run : Rs 2 Lakh; Riding with Helmet- Rs 1000; Seat Belt Violation- Rs 1000; Driving without Insurance-Rs 2000; Offences committed by juveniles, parents/guardians have to pay penalty of Rs 25,000 plus 3-year imprisonment; For driving despite disqualification, the new penalty is Rs. 10,000; and many more.
Mangaluru: Ride your two-wheeler without helmet, get caught by the cop, you pay Rs 100 and take off- and then commit the same violation again. Drive without wearing seat belt, get caught, pay Rs 100 and drive off- and few days later commit the same offence again; violating traffic/road rules, get caught, pay Rs 100 and carry on, and then commit the same offence again. Paying Rs 100 as fine was not a big thing for the motorists, so they keep on committing the same traffic offence again and again. What is the value of Rs 100 these days? It’s just peanuts to pay Rs 100 for a traffic offence. Motorists park their vehicle at ‘No Parking Zone” and go into bars/pubs/malls- they come back and see their vehicles wheels are locked by the cops-they call the cops, pay Rs 100 and ride/drive off. Seems like they enjoy paying Rs 100 as parking fee, when they spend huge bucks on cocktails or shopping. But not any more of Rs 100 kind of fine-get ready to pay hefty fine, if you break the traffic rules.
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its approval for the Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill 2016. The Bill proposes hefty penalties for violation of traffic norms including up to Rs 10,000 fine for drunken driving and Rs 2 lakh compensation for hit-and-run cases. Every year thousands of road accidents are reported in the country in which 1.5 lakh people lose their lives. The Union government is committed to reduce the number of accidents and fatalities by 50 per cent in next five years.
The important provisions include increase in compensation for hit-and-run cases from Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 2 lakh. It also provides for compensation up to Rs. 10 lakh in road accidents fatalities. The Cabinet also recommended that for persons without helmets the new proposed penalty would Rs. 1,000 apart from suspension of licence for three months. The current penalty is Rs.100.
For seat belt violation, new proposed penalty is Rs. 1,000, up from Rs. 100; For driving without insurance, the proposed penalty is Rs. 2,000, up from Rs. 1,000; For offences by juveniles, the guardian/owner shall be deemed to be guilty. They will have to pay a penalty of Rs. 25,000 apart from three-year imprisonment. The juvenile will be tried under the Juvenile Justice Act and registration of his or her motor vehicle will be cancelled.
The bill provides amendments in various penalties. While the old penalty for violating road rules was Rs. 100, the new minimum penalty is Rs. 500; Similarly, the penalty for speeding was Rs. 400, but the proposed penalties for LMV (light motor vehicle) is Rs. 1,000 and for medium passenger vehicle Rs. 2,000; The new proposed penalty for unauthorized use of vehicles without license would go up to Rs. 5,000 from Rs. 1,000.
For travelling without ticket, new proposed penalty is Rs. 500 which goes up from Rs. 200; For driving despite disqualification, the new penalty is Rs. 10,000, which is now Rs. 500. The new proposed penalty for dangerous driving would go up to Rs. 5,000 from Rs. 1,000; For disobedience of orders of authorities, the new proposed penalty is Rs. 2,000, compared with Rs. 500 at present; The vehicle without permit will now have to pay up to Rs. 10,000. For aggregators (violations of licensing conditions) the proposed penalty would be Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 1,00,000.
The new proposed penalty for overloading is Rs. 20,000 and Rs. 2,000 per extra tonne. For not providing way for emergency vehicles the proposed penalty is Rs. 10,000. For overloading of passengers, the penalty would be Rs. 1000 per extra passenger. According to sources, The bill also proposes to mandate the automated fitness testing for the transport vehicles with effect from 1st October 2018. This would reduce corruption in the Transport Department while improving the road worthiness of the vehicle. The penalties are also proposed for deliberate violation of safety/environmental regulations as well as body builders and spare part suppliers. For overloading of two-wheeler, new proposed penalty is Rs. 2,000 and disqualification of licence for three months. Currently, the penalty is Rs. 100.
In conclusion, in order to prevent the chaos on the roads stemming from citizens breaking traffic rules, the Mangaluru Traffic Police should gear itself with technology that provides no escape to all those breaking the law, be it speeding, crossing the red light, drunken driving, non payment of fines imposed or for the matter non transfer of the ownership of registration of vehicles. They need to set up more CCTV’s to catch the offenders. Yes there are way too many drunk drivers on the road, and police have not been strict in the city to catch them.
The Mangaluru traffic police should intensify their attack on all those who drink and drive. If motorists test positive for drunken driving then their vehicle should be seized and make them pay hefty fines through the court pay your fines. Not only this, their offence should be recorded at a Enforcement Automation Center and that could be accessed at any time by the inspectors. Remember that driving under the influence of liquor is a serious offence and can lead to driver being imprisoned. The same is the case for those who are found driving over the speed limits set. If found to be habitual offender the fines would not only increase but you stand to lose your driving license too.
It’s good that the Union Cabinet has made changes to the motor Vehicle act, implementing new and hefty fines on motorists breaking the law. In the same time, our Traffic Cops should be corrupt free, and not allow any traffic offenders to get away by taking in bribes. Let’s wait and see, and hope for the best, because we all know how our Kudla cops are?