Road Ministry Seeks Changes In Motor Vehicles Act To Curb Uninsured Cars, Link Premiums To Driving Behaviour

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has proposed amendments in the Motor Vehicles Act, empowering government agencies to detain uninsured vehicles. It also seeks barring the issuance of fresh driving licence to applicants, whose licence was revoked in the previous years, according to a recent report. The proposed changes include amending Section 147 in the current law to empower insurance regulator IRDAI to specify base premium and liabilities considering the vehicle’s age and challan history.

The proposal suggests insurance premiums may be linked to driver behaviour, allowing insurance agencies to decide the premium based on previous violations, which provide insight on how the vehicle is driven. Currently the government mandates base premiums and liabilities for third party insurance, in consultation with IRDAI. The current law has provisions for detention or seizure of a vehicle, if it does not have a registration or permit, or is violating permit conditions. Moreover, the officials have proposed connecting driver behaviour with challan history and licence revocation, seeking amendment to Section 9, which deals with the issuance and renewal of the driving licence.

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The ministry has also proposed amending another section to bring the option of graded eligibility to obtain licence for larger and heavier vehicles by attaining skills acquired through driving experience. The proposal further aims to expand the ambit of third-party insurance by covering the owner, driver, and occupant of personal vehicles. This is presently applicable only for commercial vehicles. Furthermore, the proposal includes extending the applicants’ age criteria for mandatory submission of medical certificates for a new driving licence or renewal from the age of 40 years at present to 60 years.

Two-wheelers make for the majority of vehicles plying on roads, which do not have a valid insurance cover. The amendment proposes removing exemptions from driving tests for applicants whose challan history reflects unsafe driving behaviour. Driving tests are only mandatory at the moment if an application has been made for renewal within one year before the licence expires.

Source: TOI