The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has made various amendments to the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989. A notification has been issued recently stating that the new rules are to be implemented from October 1, 2020.
The following amendments have been made to the earlier rules:
-Vehicular documents including details of driving licenses disqualified or revoked by the licensing authority will be recorded and updated chronologically in the portal and need not be presented physically from October 1.
-The details thus recorded will be reflected on a regular basis on the portal and the driver's behaviour will also be monitored.
-The date and time stamp of inspection and identity of the police officer in uniform or any other officer authorized by the State Government, shall also be recorded on the portal.
-Drivers can maintain their vehicular documents on Central govt's online portals like Digi-locker or m-parivahan.
The official release mentioned that the use of electronic services will help in better enforcement of Traffic Rules and will lead to removing harassment of drivers and thus facilitate the citizen.
Further, the new Motor Vehicle Rules also state that the use of handheld communication devices (including smart phones) can solely be used for route navigation while driving and in such a manner that it shall not disturb the concentration of the driver while driving.