The Rajya Sabha has cleared the bill for amending the 30 years old motor vehicle law towards improving road safety, increase fines for traffic violations, and control RTO (Regional Transport Office) corruption and additional measures to transform the transport sector.
The bill would be now sent to the Lok Sabha again for analysis and then it will be sent to the President of India for final ratification. The updated Motor Vehicles Act was made in discussion with transport ministers from 18 states and also discuss with other standing committees.
The amendments in the Bill largely focused on issues regarding improving road safety, civilians’ facilitation while dealing with the transport division, strengthening rural transport, last-mile connectivity as well as public transport, automation, and computerization and allowing online services.
Few of the important areas of the amendment are:
Road Safety
For road safety, the Bill proposed to increase fines to act as warning against traffic violations. Stricter provisions were also proposed relating to wrongdoings like juvenile driving, drunken driving, driving without a license, dangerous driving, over-speeding, overloading and so forth. Also, stricter provisions for helmets were introduced as well as provisions for electronic detection of violations. Fineconcerning motor vehicles are to be increased by 10 % each year.
Exponential Increase in Traffic Violation Penalties
One of the main components of the Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill attempts to increase traffic penalties significantly. For instance, the penalties for not wearing a helmet would rise from Rs 100 currently to Rs 1,000. The penalties for talking on the mobile phone as well as driving shall be raised to Rs 5,000 from the current Rs 500. And the penalties for drinking and driving were increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000. Alsoviolations which include not giving way to emergency services like an ambulance shall attract a fine of Rs 10,000.
Vehicle Fitness
The new Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill also suggested automated fitness tests for vehicles for determining the roadworthiness of a specific vehicle. The procedure shall now be regulated more competently and the testing agencies that issue approvals would now come under the radar of the bill and there would be recommended standards for the same.
Vehicle Recall
The new bill has also proposed provisions that would allow the central government to issue recalls for every kind of vehicles concerning a defect which causes harm towards the user, environment and other road commuters. The manufacturer, whose vehicles were recalled, shall be legally responsible to reimburse the full cost of the vehicle or replace the affected vehicle with any other model which is similar or better.
Road Safety Board
As per the provisions of the new bill, the central government can form a National Road Safety Board by means of a notification. The duty of this board is going to advise central and state governments on road safety, traffic administration, licensing as well as promoting new vehicle technology.
Good Samaritan and Cashless Treatment during Golden Hour
The bill also incorporated strategies for preventing harassment for the Good Samaritan, who is an individual that helps road accident sufferers and offers emergency assistance towards the victim at the place of the accident. Also, the bill also included provisions for cashless treatment of road accident sufferers during the golden hours.
Third-Party Insurance
The new bill stated that there would be a ten-fold increase in the insurance compensation which is from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh. The insurance claims procedure would be simplified and cleared within a month. The minimum compensation for hit and run cases would be raised from current Rs 25,000 to Rs 2 lakh in case of death and to Rs 50,000 from Rs 12,500 for grievous injury.
Motor Vehicle Accident Fund
As per the new bill, the central government would make a Motor Vehicle Accident Fund which shall provide compulsory insurance cover to every road commuters in India. The accident fund shall be utilized for the treatment of road accident sufferers, compensation towards relatives for death by a road accident, compensation for individuals who have been seriously injured and to individuals prescribed by the central government.
Driving Licenses
One of the main outlooks of the bill included the use of e-governance towards improving services to every stakeholder. This consists of provisions for issuing online learners driving licenses with compulsory identity verification. Likewise, the driving tests shall be computerized in order to avoid fake licenses and increase transparency and competence in RTOs. Commercial driving licenses would now be valid for 5 years in place of the earlier 3 years and license holders could apply for renewal one year prior to or till the license expires. The bill also had provisions to open more driver training services for commercial drivers with vehicle fitness centers as well. Differently-abled people or 'Divyang' shall be able to get licenses faster and the related bottlenecks would be removed too. Also, the bill states that alterations shall be allowed in vehicles in order for them towards being suitable for their usage.
Vehicle Registration
The registration procedure for new vehicles shall be made easier and even vehicle dealerships would be able to get new vehicles registered and there would be restrictions on temporary registrations. Furthermore, the bill proposed for the creation of a national register for driving licenses as well as vehicle registration on two different platforms; they are 'Vahan' and 'Sarathi'. These things would make the procedure uniform across the nation.
Transportation Reforms
The bill would also look at developing an integrated transport system from the National Transportation Policy. The integrated transport policy would make certain better last-mile connectivity as well as rural transport.
Cab Aggregators
The Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill would finally recognize app-based cab aggregators like Ola and Uber as well as define them as a digital intermediary or a market place. India's state governments would grant licenses towards the aggregators depending on the guidelines made by the central government. The aggregators are also required to comply with the Information Technology Act, 2000.
The proposed Amendments in Various Penalties under Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill – 2019are:
A. Section – 177 – General
Old Provision / Penalty - Rs 100
New Proposed Provision / Penalties -Rs 500
B. Section - New 177A - Rules of road regulation violation
Old Provision / Penalty - Rs 100
New Proposed Provision / Penalties -Rs 500
C. Section -178-Travel without a ticket
Old Provision / Penalty - Rs 200
New Proposed Provision / Penalties -Rs 500
D. Section179- Disobedience of orders of authorities
Old Provision / Penalty - Rs500
New Proposed Provision / Penalties - Rs2000
E. Section180- Unauthorized use of vehicles without license
Old Provision / Penalty - Rs1000
New Proposed Provision / Penalties - Rs5000
F. Section181- Driving without a license
Old Provision / Penalty - Rs500
New Proposed Provision / Penalties - Rs5000
G. Section182- Driving despite disqualification
Old Provision / Penalty - Rs500
New Proposed Provision / Penalties - Rs10,000
H. Section182 B- Oversize vehicles
Old Provision / Penalty - New
New Proposed Provision / Penalties - Rs5000
I. Section183- Over speeding
Old Provision / Penalty –Rs400
New Proposed Provision / Penalties - Rs 1000 for LMV
Rs 2000 for Medium passenger vehicle
J. Section184- Dangerous driving penalty
Old Provision / Penalty –Rs1000
New Proposed Provision / Penalties - Up to Rs 5000
K. Section185- Drunken driving
Old Provision / Penalty –Rs2000
New Proposed Provision / Penalties -Rs 10,000
L. Section189- Speeding / Racing
Old Provision / Penalty –Rs500
New Proposed Provision / Penalties -Rs5,000
M. Section189- Speeding / Racing
Old Provision / Penalty –Rs500
New Proposed Provision / Penalties -Rs5,000
N. Section192 A- Vehicle without a permit
Old Provision / Penalty – Upto Rs 5000
New Proposed Provision / Penalties -Up to RS 10,000
O. Section193- Aggregators (violations of licensing conditions)
Old Provision / Penalty – New
New Proposed Provision / Penalties -Rs 25,000 toRs 1,00,000
P. Section194- Overloading
Old Provision / Penalty – Rs 2000 and 1000 per extra tonne
New Proposed Provision / Penalties - Rs 20,000 and 2000 per extra tonne
Q. Section194A - Overloading of passengers
Old Provision / Penalty –
New Proposed Provision / Penalties - Rs 1000 per extra passenger
R. Section194B - Seat belt
Old Provision / Penalty – Rs 100
New Proposed Provision / Penalties - Rs 1000
S. Section194C - Overloading of two-wheelers
Old Provision / Penalty – Rs 100
New Proposed Provision / Penalties - Rs 2000, Disqualification for 3 months for license
T. Section194D - Helmets
Old Provision / Penalty – Rs 100
New Proposed Provision / Penalties - Rs 1000 Disqualification for 3 months for license
U. Section194E - Not providing a way for emergency vehicles
Old Provision / Penalty – New
New Proposed Provision / Penalties - Rs 10,000
V. Section196- Driving Without Insurance
Old Provision / Penalty – Rs 1000
New Proposed Provision / Penalties - Rs 2000
W. Section199- Offences by Juveniles
Old Provision / Penalty – New
New Proposed Provision / Penalties - Guardian/owner would be deemed to be guilty. Rs 25,000 with 3 years’ imprisonment.For Juvenile to be tried under the JJ Act. Registration of Motor Vehicle to be canceled
X. Section206- Power of Officers to impound documents
Old Provision / Penalty
New Proposed Provision / Penalties -Suspension of driving licenses u/s 183, 184, 185, 189, 190, 194C, 194D, 194E
Y. Section210 B - Offences committed by enforcing authorities
Old Provision / Penalty
New Proposed Provision / Penalties -Twice the penalty under the relevant section
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