Stiff Fines in Motor Vehicles Act Passed by Parliament
[Min of
RT&H Press Release dated 31 July 2019]
The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was passed by Rajya Sabha today. Speaking on the occasion Shri Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport & Highways and MSME
thanked the Members of the House and said that this was a matter of great happiness
for him. He said the much needed amendments will improve road safety, facilitate
citizens in their dealings with transport departments, strengthen rural transport,
public transport and last mile connectivity through automation, computerization
and online services. The Minister reiterated that the Bill would, in no way, encroach
upon the powers and authorities of the states. He said the Bill would rather empower
the states. He added that the Bill will provide an efficient, safe and corruption
free transport system in the country.
The Bill has been passed with three Government amendments and
will need to go back to Lok Sabha. The Lok Sabha had already passed the Bill on the 23rd
of July 2019.
The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019 is based on the recommendations
of the Group of Transport Ministers (GoM) of States constituted
by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways to address the issue of road safety
and to improve the facilitation of the citizens while dealing with transport departments.
The GoM was headed by Shri. Yoonus
Khan, the then Transport Minister of Rajasthan, and had 18 State Transport Ministers
from different political parties as members. On the basis of recommendations of
the GoM and other pressing requirements, the Ministry
of Road Transport & Highways introduced the Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill 2016.
This, along with amendments, was passed by Lok Sabha on
10th April, 2017. The Bill as passed by Lok Sabha was
introduced in Rajya Sabha and was referred to the Select
Committee of the Rajya Sabha on 08.08.2017. The Select
Committee presented its report to the Parliament on 22nd December, 2017.
The Bill was pending in the Rajya Sabha and lapsed with
the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha.
The amendments in the Bill mainly focus on issues relating to
improving road safety, citizens’ facilitation while dealing with the transport department,
strengthening rural transport, last mile connectivity and public transport, automation
and computerization and enabling online services. Some of the important areas of
amendment are as follows:
Road Safety
In the area of road safety, the Bill proposes to increase penalties
to act as deterrent against traffic violations. Stricter provisions are being proposed
in respect of offences like juvenile driving, drunken driving, driving without licence, dangerous driving, over-speeding, overloading etc.
Stricter provisions for helmets have been introduced along with provisions for electronic
detection of violations. Penalty regarding motor vehicles is to be increased by
10 % every year.
Proposed Amendments in Various Penalties under Motor Vehicles
(Amendment) Bill – 2019
|
Section |
|
Old
Provision/ Penalty |
New
Proposed Provision / Minimum Penalties |
|
177 |
General |
Rs
100 |
Rs
500 |
|
New
177A |
Rules
of road regulation violation |
Rs
100 |
Rs
500 |
|
178 |
Travel
without ticket |
RS
200 |
Rs
500 |
|
179 |
Disobedience
of orders of authorities |
Rs
500 |
Rs
2000 |
|
180 |
Unautorized
use of vehicles without licence |
Rs
1000 |
Rs
5000 |
|
181 |
Driving
without licence |
Rs
500 |
Rs
5000 |
|
182 |
Driving
despite disqualification |
Rs
500 |
Rs
10,000 |
|
182
B |
Oversize
vehicles |
New |
Rs
5000 |
|
183 |
Over
speeding |
Rs
400 |
Rs
1000 for LMV Rs
2000 for Medium passenger vehicle |
|
184 |
Dangerous
driving penalty |
Rs
1000 |
Upto
Rs 5000 |
|
185 |
Drunken
driving |
Rs
2000 |
Rs
10,000 |
|
189 |
Speeding
/ Racing |
Rs
500 |
Rs
5,000 |
|
192
A |
Vehicle
without permit |
upto
Rs 5000 |
Upto
Rs 10,000 |
|
193 |
Aggregators
(violations of licensing conditions) |
New |
Rs
25,000 to Rs 1,00,000 |
|
194 |
Overloading |
Rs
2000 and Rs 1000 per extra tonne |
Rs
20,000 and Rs 2000 per extra tonne |
|
194
A |
Overloading
of passengers |
|
Rs
1000 per extra passenger |
|
194
B |
Seat
belt |
Rs
100 |
Rs
1000 |
|
194
C |
Overloading
of two wheelers |
Rs
100 |
Rs
2000, Disqualification for 3 months for licence |
|
194
D |
Helmets |
Rs
100 |
Rs
1000 Disqualification for 3 months for licence |
|
194
E |
Not
providing way for emergency vehicles |
New |
Rs
10,000 |
|
196 |
Driving
Without Insurance |
RS
1000 |
Rs
2000 |
|
199 |
Offences
by Juveniles |
New |
Guardian
/ owner shall be deemed to be guilty. Rs 25,000
with 3 yrs imprisonment. For Juvenile to be tried
under JJ Act. Registration of Motor Vehicle to be cancelled |
|
206 |
Power
of Officers to impound documents |
|
Suspension
of driving licenses u/s 183, 184, 185, 189, 190, 194C, 194D, 194E |
|
210
B |
Offences
committed by enforcing authorities |
|
Twice
the penalty under the relevant section |
Vehicle Fitness
The Bill mandates automated fitness testing for vehicles. This
would reduce corruption in the transport department while improving the road worthiness
of the vehicle. Penalty has been provided for deliberate violation of safety/environmental
regulations as well as body builders and spare part suppliers. The process for testing
and certification for automobiles is proposed to be regulated more effectively.
The testing agencies issuing automobile approvals have been brought under the ambit
of the Act and standards will be set for motor vehicle testing institutes. The Bill
also provides for compulsory recall of defective vehicles and power to examine irregularities
of vehicle companies.
Recall of Vehicles
The Bill allows the central government to order
for recall of motor vehicles if a defect in the vehicle may cause damage to the
environment, or the driver, or other road users. The manufacturer of the recalled
vehicle will be required to: (i) reimburse the buyers
for the full cost of the vehicle, or (ii) replace the defective vehicle with another
vehicle with similar or better specifications.
Road Safety Board
The Bill provides for a National Road Safety
Board, to be created by the central government through a notification. The Board
will advise the central and state governments on all aspects of road safety and
traffic management including standards of motor vehicles, registration and licensing
of vehicles, standards for road safety, and promotion of new vehicle technology.
Protection of Good Samaritan
To help road accident victims, Good Samaritan guidelines have
been incorporated in the Bill. The Bill defines a Good Samaritan as a person who
renders emergency medical or non-medical assistance to a victim at the scene of
an accident, and provides rules to prevent harassment of such a person.
Cashless Treatment during Golden Hour
The Bill provides for a scheme for cashless treatment of road
accident victims during golden hour.
Third Party Insurance
The Bill has included the driver’s attendant in 3rd
Party insurance. re will be no cap on liability of insurers.
There will be a 10 time increase in insurance compensation, from Rs 50, 000 to Rs 5 lakh. Claim process
has been simplified. Insurance firms have to pay claims within a month, if the victim’s
family agree to accept Rs 5 lakh compensation. The Bill
also increases the minimum compensation for hit and run cases from Rs 25,000 to two lakh rupees in case of death, and from Rs 12,500 to Rs 50,000 in case of
grievous injury.
Motor Vehicle Accident Fund
The Bill requires the central government to
constitute a Motor Vehicle Accident Fund, to provide compulsory insurance cover
to all road users in India. It will be utilised for: treatment
of persons injured in road accidents as per the golden hour scheme, compensation
to representatives of a person who died in a hit and run accident, compensation
to a person grievously hurt in a hit and run accident, and compensation to any other
persons as prescribed by the central government. This Fund will be credited through:
payment of a nature notified by the central government, a grant or loan made by
the central government, balance of the Solatium Fund (existing
fund under the Act to provide compensation for hit and run accidents),or any other
source as prescribed the central government.
Improving Services using e-Governance
Improving delivery of services to the stakeholders using e-Governance
is one of the major focuses of this Bill. This includes
·
Provision for online driving licenses.
The Bill provides for online Learners Licence
with mandatory online identity verification Driving test will be computerized to
avoid fake D.L. The Bill will bring transparency in RTO offices. Commercial licenses
will be valid upto five instead of three years. Application
for renewal can be made one year prior to or after licence
lapses. Driver Training Schools will be opened so that more efficient drivers may
be available.
·
Process of Vehicle Registration
To improve the registration process for new vehicles, registration
at the end of the dealer is being enabled and restrictions have been imposed on
temporary registration. The Minister has however said that state transport departments
can inspect the vehicles at dealers end .
To bring harmony of the registration and licensing process, it
is proposed to create National Register for Driving Licence
and National Register for Vehicle registration through “Vahan”
& “Sarathi” platforms. This will facilitate uniformity
of the process across the country.
·
Drivers Training
The driving training process has been strengthened enabling faster
issuance of transport licenses. This will help in reducing the shortage of commercial
drivers in the country. More and more drivers training
schools and vehicle fitness centres will be opened
To facilitate transport solutions for Divyang,
the bottlenecks have been removed in respect of grant of driving licenses as well
as alterations in the vehicles to make it fit for their use .
Reforms in Transportation System
Development of integrated Transport System will be possible from
the National Transportation Policy. This will also enhance the powers of
the State Governments, provide better last mile connectivity, rural transport etc.
Taxi aggregators:
The Bill defines aggregators as digital intermediaries or market
places which can be used by passengers to connect with a driver for transportation
purposes (taxi services). The Bill provides guidelines for Aggregators. At present
there are no rules in many states for regulating aggregators, taxis etc.
Reforms in Driving Licences
The Bill provides for online Learners Licence.
Provision of online identity verification Aadhar Card
has been made mandatory for making Driving Licences and
driving test of the applicant will be computerized to avoid fake D.L. The Bill will
bring transparency in RTO offices. Commercial licenses will be valid upto five instead of three years. Application for renewal can
be made one year prior to or after licence lapses. Driver
Training Schools will be opened so that more efficient driver may be available.
Simplification in the process of vehicle registration
The vehicle owners may register their vehicle anywhere in the
state and process of registration will be done by dealers. Differently abled persons
will get facilities for registration of vehicles. Checking of fitness of vehicles
will be computerised and laws for scrapping of old vehicle.
Now since the National Register is in place, transfer of vehicle from one city to
another will be easier and the stolen vehicles will not get registered.
Reforms in Transportation System
Development of integrated Transport System will be possible from
the National Transportation Policy. This will also enhance the powers of the State
Governments, provide better last mile connectivity, rural transport etc. The Bill
provides guidelines for Aggregators. At present there are no rules in many states
for regulating aggregators, taxis etc.
Recall of vehicles: The Bill allows the central government to order for recall of
motor vehicles if a defect in the vehicle may cause damage to the environment, or
the driver, or other road users. The manufacturer of the recalled vehicle will be
required to: (i) reimburse the buyers for the full cost
of the vehicle, or (ii) replace the defective vehicle with another vehicle with
similar or better specifications.
National Transportation Policy: The central government may develop a National Transportation Policy,
in consultation with state governments. The Policy will: (i)
establish a planning framework for road transport, (ii) develop a framework for
grant of permits, and (iii) specify priorities for the transport system, among other
things.
Offences and penalties: The Bill increases penalties for several offences under the Act.
For example, the maximum penalty for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
has been increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000. If a vehicle manufacturer fails to comply with motor
vehicle standards, the penalty will be a fine of up to Rs
100 crore, or imprisonment of up to one year, or both. If a contractor fails to
comply with road design standards, the penalty will be a fine of up to one lakh
rupees. The central government may increase fines mentioned under the Act every
year by up to 10%.
Taxi aggregators: The Bill defines aggregators as digital intermediaries or market
places which can be used by passengers to connect with a driver for transportation
purposes (taxi services). These aggregators will be issued licenses by state Further, they must comply with the Information Technology Act,
2000.