GUWAHATI: Contrary to popular belief, the amount of fines being collected for traffic violations has gone down considerably ever since the Motor Vehicle Act 2019 came into effect.
“All the traffic rules were prevalent in the past as well; however, the fines were very minimal. The increase in fines has disciplined our public,” exclaimed Deepak Kumar, Commissioner of Police, Guwahati.
The top city cop informed G Plus that while the traffic police used to realise approximately Rs 2 lakhs worth of fines every day under the old Motor Vehicle Act, it has been realising less than half the amount now that the government has announced a hike in the fines.
The new Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act 2019 was implemented in Guwahati from September 24, Tuesday. Under the Act, the penalty for traffic violations was increased by 5 to 10 times in different cases.
On the first day of implementation, that is, September 24, the city police realised Rs 84,500 from a total of 77 cases of violations. The next day, Rs 94,500 was realised off 106 cases while on the third day, a whopping Rs 1,50,500 was realised from 156 cases.
It should be mentioned that prior to the implementation of MV Act 2019, as many as 700 cases of traffic violations were reported every single day.
The Act has introduced stricter punishment for various traffic offences as well as higher penalties, including a compensation of Rs 5 lakhs for death and Rs 2.5 lakhs for grievous injury in motor vehicle accident cases.
It mentions Rs 10,000 fine for not giving way to emergency vehicles, driving despite disqualification of licence and drunken driving.
Out of the 339 cases of violations reported in the first three days of the new Act coming into play, maximum cases were those of driving without helmets, followed by inability to produce proper documents like driving licence, registration certificate and pollution certificate.
Motor Vehicle Act 2019 will reduce road mishap, feel experts
While it's still early to know whether road fatalities have increased or decreased since the implementation of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019, city cops and other experts feel that the numbers will go down.
Union Road Transport Minister, Nitin Gadkari, stated that about 5 lakh deaths occur in India per year due to traffic laws' violation. He also said that barring one or two states, all were on board on the new law. The implementation of the MVA 2019 will bring down the number of road fatalities in the country, the participants said.
Deepak Kumar, Commissioner of Police, Guwahati speaking to G Plus said, “Penalties have been increased under the new law to make people more aware of road safety; earlier people would bribe their way through after violating rules as the penalties were low compared to the fresh amendment. The Act should be given more time as hefty traffic fines are needed so that people follow rules.”
“The number of cases of traffic violations has come down from 700 to 100 in a matter of just three days, owing to the hefty fines. If the public continues to abide by the Act and follow the rules this way, it will hopefully lead to lesser mishaps in the future,” he added.
In the same vein, an official of the District Transport Office (DTO) said, “Breaking traffic rules lead to accidents and even death in severe cases. The increased penalties will bring a positive change with more people following rules, maintaining speed limits and taking precautions such as wearing helmets and fastening seat belts.”
Penalties/provisions as per Motor Vehicle Act 2019:
• Driving without a licence – Rs 5,000
• Racing and trials of speed – Rs 5,000
• Dangerous driving - Rs 5000
• Drunken Drivng - Rs 10,000
• Violating air and noise pollution – Rs 10,000
• Driver or passenger without a seat belt – Rs 1,000
• Carrying children below 14 years without a safety belt/child restraint system – Rs 1,000
• Riding more than two persons in two-wheelers – Rs 1,000
• Riding without helmets by both driver and pillion – Rs 1,000
• Not providing a way for emergency vehicles (Fire Service or Ambulance) – Rs 10,000
• Offences by juvenile - Juvenile to be tried under Juvenile Justice Act, Guardian/vehicle to pay fine Rs 25,000 with 3 years imprisonment
