Updated List of Rules for Traffic Violations in India (From Sep 2019)

No, Driver while driving a four-wheeler or two-wheeler shall use a mobile phone.

Yes. Occupants other than the driver can use a mobile phone.

No. Exemption is not provided to anyone. You can stop the vehicle and then use your mobile phone.

Both the driver and the person seated in front of the vehicle must wear seat belts while the car is in motion.

The Driving License, Registration Certificate, Tax Paid Receipt, Emission Test Certificate and Insurance Certificate should be carried by the driver, And, in the case of transport vehicles, you need to carry Fitness Certificate and Permit.

If the vehicle is left unattended or abandoned or parked in a way which causes inconvenience to other road users or parked in an unauthorized parking zone can be towed away.

If you’re found drinking and driving a vehicle, the penalty for such violations is Rs.10,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 6 months for a first-time offence and Rs.15,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 2 years for second-time offence. You’ll have to pay the fine in the court as they empowered to impose the fine.

A warrant will be issued if you do not appear in the court and may lead to arrest and stricter penalties.

Insurance is mandatory in India. If you’re found driving or riding a vehicle without insurance, you’ll be fined Rs.2,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 3 months in the first instance and it’s Rs.4,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 3 months in the second instance.

No, you cannot have two driving licences in India. As per the new Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act 2019, you will be penalized if you are found having more than one driving licence.

- February 18, 2022

The government has come up with a new set of rules for children pillion riders on two-wheelers. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has notified these new safety rules that are intended to make two-wheeler riding safer for children aged between 9 months and 4 years. As per the new rules, all children (aged between 9 months and 4 years) must wear a helmet and a safety harness while riding on a two-wheeler. The new rules also state that the speed limit for two-wheelers with children as pillion riders is 40 km/h. The new rules will come into effect a year from now. The government has already amended The Motor Vehicles Act to introduce these new rules. According to the new regulations, the rider and pillion (kid) must wear a safety harness. It securely attaches the child to the rider. The safety harness should be light, durable, made out of nylon and should have a capacity to hold weight up to 30 kg.

- December 05, 2021

The traffic police department of Bengaluru has launched a pilot programme to send SMS notices for traffic violations. The initiative was launched in an effort to decrease the manpower and financial burden of sending hard copies of traffic challans by person or post. If the programme is a success, then the Bengaluru traffic will stop the issuance of hard copies of the traffic challans. SMS notices will be sent as soon as the traffic rule is violated by the vehicle owner. One can pay the traffic fine through the link sent via the SMS notification. Also, the link has proof of the traffic violation. Currently, the traffic police send out a hard copy of the challan to the vehicle owner’s address. The entire cost of sending the hard copy to the vehicle owner cost Rs. 4.50 said the Bengaluru traffic police. However, police personnel had to hand-deliver the challan if the challan was unserved or unresponded. Also, there have been cases where the challans were undelivered due to a change in the residential address of the vehicle owner. The SMS notices are expected to mitigate the issues experienced by sending hard copies of the traffic challans.

– October 22, 2020

The amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act had increased the penalties for violating traffic rules about a year ago. The changes have now been enforced in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Previously, if the fine for violating a certain rule was Rs. 500 then now the same would attract a fine of Rs. 5000. With the new figures, the authorities are now hoping to make a collection of a whopping one thousand corer a year. The fine for under-age driving was Rs. 500. It has now been increased to Rs. 5000. Using a mobile phone while driving now attracts a fine of Rs. 1500 for a first-time offender. The penalty for repeating this offence is Rs. 10000. Overspeeding now attracts a fine of Rs. 5000 for the first time and Rs. 10000 for each repeated offence. The traffic authorities want these heavy fines to act as a deterrent to curb traffic violations and evoke a sense of discipline in vehicle drivers more than collecting fines.

– September 28, 2020

Mobile phones can be used only for route navigation and not for any other purposes, said the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) today. The mobile phone can be used by the driver for this purpose only without the distraction of the concentration of the driver while driving. The ministry said that it has tweaked the Motor Vehicles Act to accommodate the ruling. It also said that it has amended the law to facilitate the use of digital technology to store vehicle documents such as permits, fitness certificates, registration certificates, driving licenses, etc., through the web portal. This portal will be maintained by the government and will be utilised to made endorsements, impounding of vehicles, revocation or suspension of registrations, licences, issuing e-challans, etc. These new rules will come into effect from 1 October 2020. The traffic fine for driving with mobile phones ranges between Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 5,000. The rule is part of the amended Motor Vehicles Act which was revised to improve road safety and transportations rules to curb violations and upgradation of technology.

– August 17, 2020

Non-essential vehicles are supposed to follow the odd-even rule in Dimapur, Nagaland from today till August 31, 2020. This is expected to help in curbing the spread of COVID-19 by allowing a limited number of vehicles on the road. The rule will be effective in Dimapur, and NH-29 till the town of Chümoukedima. Under the odd-even rule, the vehicles with registration numbers ending with an odd number will be allowed to ply on the road. This is possible on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On the other days i.e. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday vehicles with registration number ending with even numbers will be allowed on the road. The restriction is not enforced on Sundays. Other types of vehicles like two-wheelers or vehicles appointed to provide essential services do not have to follow the rule. Similarly, vehicles providing COVID-19 services are also exempted. The number of COVID-19 cases seems to be decreasing these days. Currently, there are 1964 active cases in Nagaland. 1422 have been cured/discharged and unfortunately, 8 people have lost their lives.

– August 3, 2020

The Government of Uttar Pradesh has increased the penalty amount related to the violation of several traffic rules and regulations. In some cases; the hike has been doubled and in some; it has been increased ten times. The hike in penalty is for a wide spectrum of violations ranging from not wearing a helmet while riding a bike to modifying the vehicle illegally and selling it. The proposal was put forth by the Transport Department and was approved by the Cabinet. Post-approval, the state government issued a notification regarding the same. The penalty for riding a two-wheeler has been hiked from INR 500 to INR 1000. Driving a four-wheeler without wearing the seat belt will lead to a penalty of INR 1000. Speaking on a mobile phone while driving amounts to a fine of INR 1000 for the first offence and a repeat offence amounts to a fine of INR 10000, which is ten times the fine for the first offence. Stating incorrect information on a Driving License will attract a fine of INR 10000.

– July 10, 2020

The state government of Rajasthan has decided to tweak traffic violation penalties under the Motor Vehicles Act. After the modification of the traffic fines, the penalties are almost 10% less than the previous penalties set by the Union Government. For instance, the traffic fine for jumping red-light signals was Rs.10,000, which is now Rs.1,000. Other penalties include common violations which attract Rs. 100 for two-wheeler riders, while it is Rs.200 for four-wheeler users. Talking on the mobile phone while driving will invite a fine of Rs.1000, driving without a helmet is Rs.1000, driving without a seatbelt is Rs.1000, drunken driving will invite a penalty of Rs.10,000. And driving without insurance will attract Rs.2000 as fine for the first offence and Rs.4000 for the second and subsequent offences. If found driving without a valid licence, expired or suspended, it will attract a fine of Rs.5,000.

– May 27, 2020

Beginning today, you can pay traffic fines online in Chennai. All fines imposed by the police department are now generated digitally by the State Traffic Police Control Unit and can be paid via the Virtual Court web portal. Under the existing system, e-challans were generated for traffic violations and the fine had to be paid at the nearest post office. Fines for traffic violations such as overspeeding, helmet-less travel, jumping red-signal, overloading and not wearing seat belts can be paid via the Virtual Court web portal (https://vcourts.gov.in).

– May 20, 2020

The state of Uttarakhand has announced guidelines for Lockdown 4.0 stating that odd-even rules will be imposed in select cities across the state. The Chief Secretary of State said that most guidelines issued by the central government will be followed, however, some relaxations have been offered in some areas. While districts in the state will continue to be locked down during Lockdown 4.0, government offices will operate between 10 am and 4 pm. Malls and schools will continue to be closed during the period, while there will be no gathering in religious places and stadiums can operate without spectators. The odd-even rules in Uttarakhand will be applicable in Haldwani, Haridwar, Rudrapur, Kotdwar, Kashipur and other district headquarters.

– March 18, 2020

Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari informed the parliament today that road accidents have declined by 10% in Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, and Chandigarh after the implementation of the new MV Act, 2019. The transport Minister revealed data from 12 states and union territories. The data is a comparison of the rate of accidents with the five months before the MC Act was implemented in September 2019. Haryana and Delhi showed a decline of 1% and 1.8% in accidents, while accidents in Kerala and Assam dropped by 4.9% and 7.2% respectively. The states of Chattisgarh, Maharashtra, Manipur and Andhra Pradesh witnessed accidents drop by 4.7%, 5.4%, 3.4% and 6.4%, respectively.

– March 17, 2020

The Delhi government has notified that the new MV Act 2019 will be implemented in the Union Territory. The move will allow traffic cops to issue on spot fines for traffic violations. Violations such as jumping a traffic signal will invite a traffic fine of Rs.5,000 and/or 1-year imprisonment, while drunk driving invites a traffic fine of Rs.10,000 and/or 6 months of imprisonment and subsequent offence, the fine goes up to Rs.15,000 and imprisonment of 2-years. By implementing the new MV Act, Delhi is the eighth state in the country to adopt the law.

– March 13, 2020

The Police Department and the Regional Transport Offices have collected over 23,000 e-challans against traffic violations by road users across the state of Odisha in 10 days that is from 1 March to 10 March 2020. While over 10,000 e-challans issued by the RTOs, of these 1340 have been issued against over-speeding. Other offences include the use of mobile phone while driving, driving against the traffic flow, drunken driving, triple riding, driving without a seatbelt, riding with a helmet, 10 juvenile cases, etc. Likewise, the Police Department has issued more than 12,000 e-challans between the same period. The Odisha government had relaxed the implementation of the new MV Act until 29 February 2020.

– January 15, 2020

The state government of Odisha will request the Central government to reduce the revised traffic fines for violations of traffic rules. The Odisha Commerce and Transport Minister said the state government has decided to have more squads of traffic cops every 30 km of the National Highways and to streamline the parking on the roadside. He added that Odisha ranks 5th in India in the number of road accidents and said that the implementation of the new Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, road accidents have reduced due to the steep fines. He further said that the state government has set a goal to reduce road accidents in the state by 20%.

– January 14, 2020

Bollywood actor Arshad Warsi took to the streets to promote Road Safety Week Program launched by the Maharashtra Police. The actor said that it’s necessary to generate awareness among people about road safety. He added that he keeps travelling across the country and found the Mumbai traffic system is much better compared to other cities, but still very behind in terms of road safety. He urged citizens to follow traffic rules and regulations and care about pedestrians and should stop lane cutting. About his advice for people riding without a helmet or driving without wearing a seatbelt, he said that he sees the traffic violations all the time and have told several times to adhere to rules and to wear helmets. He further said that we need to keep trying and the change will slowly begin.

– January 9, 2020

Ahmedabad police imposed a fine of Rs.27.68 lakh on a Porsche premium sports car for not having valid vehicle documents. The Porsche 911 was found without a car number and valid documents. The Porsche owner paid penalty towards interest and the fine to get the car back as well as pending taxes. The Ahmedabad traffic police took to Twitter to share the photo of the Porsche and the paid challan. While the owner was initially fined Rs.9.8 lakh, it was found later through old records and imposed a fine of Rs.27.68 lakh, considered the highest traffic fine in India.

– December 16, 2019

The state government of Goa has set a new deadline for the implementation of the New Motor Vehicle Act, 2019 traffic rules and fines for traffic offences in the state. The Transport Minister said that the amended vehicle Act will be implemented across the state by the end of January 2020. It was reported earlier that the new rules will come into effect from 1 January 2020; however, this has been deferred until the end of January. The minister also said that a review of road safety measures was taken and the Act will be implemented after putting required road safety measures such as the installation of signboards, speed limit, etc. He added that there is a proposal to reduce certain traffic fines, however, the final decision will be taken after the next cabinet meeting.

– December 12, 2019

The Goa state cabinet will decide today on whether to revise traffic fines of certain violations before it is implemented in the state from 1 January 2020. The Transport Minister said that there is a proposal to slash fines for certain traffic rule violations and the cabinet will take the final call. However, he reiterated that fines for drunk driving will not be reduced. Several states in the country have implemented the New Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act, 2019 which came into effect from 1 September 2019, while some have reduced certain fines. New traffic fines are steep in order to curb traffic violations in the country.

– December 11, 2019

Afraid of steep traffic fines, a man from Odisha has come up with a unique idea to beat the traffic fines. He has purchased a horse to escape steep fines as well as to avoid high fuel prices. He also believes that through this he is contributing to the environment by riding a non-pollutant mode of travel. The New Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act, 2019 has steep fines for traffic violations in an effort to curb traffic violations in the country. While many states have implemented the new MV Act, others have either reduced the fine or customized so that it does not burden the common man.

– December 6, 2019

Offering the much-needed relief to commuters in Chandigarh, the administration has opted to impose a minimum fine for different traffic violations under the new Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act, 2019. Earlier, it had imposed the maximum fine listed under the same act which came into effect from 1 September 2019. However, offences such as driving without insurance, speeding/racing, driving without a licence, driving despite disqualification, unauthorised use of vehicles, not wearing a helmet or seat belt continue to attract stiff penalties in Chandigarh. The Central government implemented the new MV Act, 2019 in an effort to curb traffic violations and improve the safety of commuters.

– December 3, 2019

More than three lakh were issued traffic challans and mopped up fine over Rs.5 crore during the traffic awareness week. The Ghaziabad traffic police have a special drive every November to reduce the number of traffic violations and accidents. This year, the traffic police department and the RTOs organised traffic awareness seminars in schools and rallies in an effort to educate people about the significance of traffic rules and safety. More than 3 lakh traffic violators were issued challans and traffic fine of more than Rs.5 crore were collected. The traffic awareness month witnessed education programs and traffic awareness were conducted in more than 30 schools and about 50,000 students were taught about traffic awareness and safety.

– November 30, 2019

The State government of Odisha has extended the enforcement of the new Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act, 2019 by 3 months amid huge rush in RTOs across the state. Transport Minister said that the Chief Minister of Odisha directed to extend the relaxation of the enforcement of new traffic rules by another 3 months. He added that this extension will be for the last time while continuing the drive against traffic violations in the state. Previously, the state government had deferred the implementation of the new traffic rules by 3 months, which was supposed to be effective from 1 September 2019.

– November 28, 2019

The Odisha government today said that there will be no more relief and the enforcement of the new Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act, 2019 will be implemented from 1 December 2019. The Chief Minister had relaxed the enforcement of the new traffic rules after concerns were raised over steep fines for three months. However, the rush in RTOs to get vehicle and driver’s documents is quite high despite the rule being relaxed for three months so that the public can complete the documentation process. However, the transport minister ruled further relaxation of the rule as its the duty of the state government to implement the Act for the safety of commuters.

– November 26, 2019

Deaths arising out of road accidents have declined by 9% in the last two months since the new Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act, 2019 was implemented. The new MV Act came into effect from 1 September 2019, since then, the country saw 3,375 deaths due to road accidents compared to 3,729 recorded during the same time last year. In Chandigarh, road accidents which have led to deaths have declined by about 75% compared to the same period last year, while it is 31%, 22% and 14% in Puducherry, Uttarakhand, and Gujarat, respectively. The new MV Act, 2019 brought in steeper fines for traffic violations to encourage commuters to adhere to traffic rules for safety as well as to streamline traffic on public roads.

– November 20, 2019

An MBA student from Indore grabbed everyone’s attention with her unique and innovative way of managing traffic. Shubi Jain is pursuing her MBA in a management institute in Pune and has been volunteering to manage traffic in Indore for the past 15 days with her quirky and unique dance moves to bring awareness about road safety. She hails from Madhya Pradesh and is inspired by Ranjit Singh, the moonwalking traffic policeman, who has been urging commuters to wear a helmet while riding a two-wheeler and seat belt while driving a car. She said that she has been volunteering for the traffic police and she is inspired to more when people turn back and smile at her. She added that several people have come up to her and told her that they are wearing helmets and seat belts.

– November 18, 2019

The Odisha government is all set to reintroduce heftier traffic fines under the new Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act 2019 from 1 December 2019. Odisha transport minister informed that its the responsibility of the state government to ensure safe roads and enforce stricter penalties in the interest of the public. The fines will be as per the provisions of the new MV Act. The Odisha government had relaxed the enforcement of the new MV Act and fines for three months. The new MV Act came into effect from 1 September 2019. The transport minister said that the 3-month relaxation was provided as several people were not in a possession of documents such as DL and emission certificate.

– November 16, 2019

The odd-even rule in Delhi ended on Friday after imposing the rule in the backdrop of bad air quality in the national capital. Delhi Chief Minister said a decision to extend the rule will be taken up on 18 November 2019. The third edition of the rule was implemented from 4 November 2019 due to Delhi’s air quality touched “Severe” levels. During the days when the odd-even rule was imposed in Delhi, 4,885 violators were penalised; however, the number was much lower than the previous two editions. The fine for violations of the odd-even rule was fixed at Rs.4,000. The last editions witnessed 10,021 and 7,300 violations, respectively. The earlier fine was fixed at Rs.2,000, which was increased as per the new MV Act 2019.

– November 4, 2019

The state government of Delhi will implement the 12-day odd-even traffic rule in the Indian capital from Monday. The Delhi government has deployed 2,000 additional buses and metro trips have been increased by 61 to cater to commuters in Delhi. Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal has asked senior government officials to ensure that no persons face difficulties due to the implementation of the rule. Violators of the odd-even rule will invite a penalty of Rs.4,000. The earlier editions of the rule invited fine of Rs.2,000 for violations. The scheme is scheduled from 4 to 5 November 2019.

– October 23, 2019

The Kerala government today announced a reduction in traffic fines. The cabinet of the Kerala government decided to cut fines for certain traffic violations under the New Motor Vehicle Act. The fine for using mobile while driving has been fixed at Rs.2,000, which ranged from Rs.1,000 and Rs.5,000 so far. The fine for overspeeding has been reduced to Rs.1,500 for the first-time offence for Light Motor Vehicle (LMV) and for heavy vehicles it has been fixed at Rs.3,000. If you are caught for not wearing a helmet or seat belt, the fine has been cut to Rs.500 from Rs.1,000, and the fine for overloading has been cut from Rs.20,000 to Rs.10,000. However, the fine for drunken driving will continue to attract Rs.10,000. The new Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act, 2019 came into effect from 1 September 2019 and traffic fines were increased sharply to reduce traffic violations.

– October 21, 2019

The New Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act, 2019 came into effect this September and traffic police are using creative ways to highlight the importance of adhering to traffic rules. Now, a video of a Chandigarh police has gone viral for the right reasons. In the video, the Chandigarh cop is seen singing his version of Daler Mehndi’s popular 1995 hit “Bolo Ta Ra Ra”, raising awareness about parking rules. The lyrics of the popular track was tweaked by the police as he warned commuters about the consequences of parking in the wrong place. Even as he sang the song, he asked citizens to park their vehicles at the right parking area. Singer Daler Mehndi responded to the rendition of his hit song through Twitter saying he’s glad that his popular track is used by the police to inspire citizens to follow traffic rules.

– October 18, 2019

Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar along with other legends such as Virender Sehwag, Bret Lee, Brain Lara, Jhothy Rodes and Tillakaratne Dilshan will join hands once again to play cricket when they take part in the Road Safety World Series which is scheduled to be held in the country in 2020. The series will be an annual affair between five cricketing countries – India, South Africa, Australia, West Indies and Sri Lanka. The annual T20 tournament will witness the brilliance of the legends and will create awareness of road safety during the tournament. The aim of the series to bring awareness about social change in the country and people’s outlook towards road safety.

– October 17, 2019

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today announced the details of the odd-even rule in the national capital. The Chief Minister said that the scheme, which will be implemented from 4th to 15th November 2019, would not apply to vehicles ferrying school children. However, the rule applies to all non-transport four-wheelers and vehicles arriving from other Indian states. Other exemption includes women-only buses or vehicles and vehicles used for hospital and medical emergencies adding that there will be no exemption for Delhi government ministers. Vehicles used by the President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India, Governors of states, Union Ministers, Leaders of Opposition of bother houses and Lok Sabha speakers would be exempted as well. The odd-even rule in Delhi will be implemented from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm and any violations of the rule will attract a fine of Rs.4,000.

– September 25, 2019

The Road Transport Ministry said that driving license and vehicle registration certificate in electronic formats is at par with original documents. Both the DL and RC can be stored in DigiLocker and mParivahan mobile applications, which can be shown to the traffic police for verification. The Ministry added that if the documents are not stored in DigiLocker and mParivahan, they will not be at par with the original documents. The Central Motor Vehicles Rules were amended in November 2018, which enables documents such as driving license (DL), registration certificate (RC), fitness and permit, insurance, pollution under control (PUC) certificate to be accepted in electronic format.

– September 25, 2019

A two-wheeler commuter was fined a staggering Rs.22,500 for a number of traffic offences in Balangir district on Sunday. This comes after Odisha Chief Minister relaxed implementation of new traffic rules of the New Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act, 2019 in the state for three months. The biker was fined for traffic violations such as Rs.500 for general offence, Rs.5,000 for failing to produce his DL, Rs.2,000 for disobeying orders, Rs.5,000 for rash driving, and Rs.10,000 for riding under the influence of alcohol. The motorcyclist was detained by the traffic police and his vehicle was seized as he refused to pay the fine. The New MV (Amendment) Act, 2019 came into effect from 1 September 2019

– September 21, 2019

The Karnataka government today slashed the revised fines for traffic violations under the New Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act 2019 – introduced at the beginning of the month – owing to public pressure. This was announced through a notification by the Transport Department specifying the decreased fines for traffic violations which are applicable in cities like Bengaluru. Fines for not wearing a seatbelt and riders not wearing a helmet have been slashed from Rs.1,000 to Rs.500 while driving without a license was cut from Rs.5,000 to Rs.1,000 for two-wheelers and three-wheelers, and Rs.2,000 for four-wheelers. Other penalties such as overspeeding, driving under the influence of alcohol, and racing has been kept unchanged. The penalty for driving without insurance has been cut from Rs.2,000 to Rs.1,000 for two-wheelers, while the fine of Rs.2,000 for four-wheelers remains unchanged and heavy goods continue to attract Rs.4,000 for the violation.

– September 21, 2019

The Delhi government decided to return to the odd-even rule from 4th November 2019. Any violation of this traffic rule will attract a penalty of Rs.20,000. This rule came into effect under the New Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act 2019 which has increased the fine by up to 10 times. The previous fine for violating the odd-even rule in Delhi was Rs.2,000. Under Section 115 of the new MV Act 2019, anyone found violating the odd-even rule is a traffic offence and leads to a fine of Rs.20,000 offering the state government to restrict the use of vehicles. The last time the Delhi government imposed the odd-even rule in the national capital was in January and April 2016 with the fine of Rs.2,000.

– September 16, 2019

Reduced fines for traffic violations in Gujarat come into effect from today, a week after the Central Government announced new traffic rules that had provisions for steep penalties. The traffic police of Gujarat will be deployed at all major junctions to ensure motorists follow traffic rules. The police advised people to follow traffic norms, and they will not spare any offender, but at the same time not to draw motorists ire. People are advised to carry all required documents and, use safety gear such as helmets for two-wheeler commuters and the use of seat belt for four-wheeler commuters. Last week, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani had announced new penalties for traffic violations, reducing fines laid down in the New Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act, 2019 by up to 90%.

– September 9, 2019

The Centre has implemented the new Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 which came into effect from 1 September 2019 with 63 clauses. The amended MV Act primarily focuses on some of the most common traffic violations across the country. The Union Government has amended the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 to ensure road safety for all road users with a change in penalties, registration, driving license and the National Transport Policy. Among the changes are steeper fines for driving under the influence of alcohol or intoxicating substance which attracts 6 months imprisonment and/or fine of Rs.10,000 for the first-time offence, while the subsequent offence will attract imprisonment of 2 years and/or fine of Rs.15,000. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said that these 63 clauses do not require further amendments in the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989.

– September 9, 2019

The Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways said that an intelligent traffic system does not differentiate between a union minister, bureaucrat, chief minister or a journalist while stressing on steeper fines for violations of traffic rules are aimed at curbing road accidents. He also said that if someone abides by the law, there is no need for fear of hefty challans. Mr Gadkari further added that strict rules were much-needed as people were not serious about traffic laws and there was no fear or respect for the law and that there are people who have never been fined even once as they follow traffic rules and questioned why others can’t abide by the rules. The Central Minister also urged people to take advantage of digital platforms such as mParivahan or DigiLocker to carry Registration Certificate, Driving License and other documents in an electronic form which are valid under the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988.