Soon, traffic violations to invite hefty fines

Saturday, March 28, 2009
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Get ready to pay heavier fines for traffic offences. A new Bill to amend the Motor Vehicles Act 1988 has been given the final touches. If passed as one of the first laws enacted by the
new government, as is expected, all traffic violations would invite a heavy penalty.

Officials told TOI that higher fines for violations like overspeeding, jumping red lights, wrong parking or driving without licence, are expected to be in place by the end of the year, so that there is disciplined traffic in the Capital before Commonwealth Games. Even if the new law is being rushed through because of the Games, it will be applicable across the country.

The move, however, suffers from one major infirmity — while efforts are on to steeply increases the penalty, there is no talk of ensuring that the laws themselves are realistic. For instance, in Delhi the flat speed limit is 50 kmph — so unrealistically low that no one observes it -- but the new Bill proposes to hike the fine for overspeeding from Rs 400 to Rs 1,000.

According to the other proposed amendments, jumping red lights or not wearing seat belt would invite a penalty of Rs 500 instead of Rs 100 at present. It is also proposed that parking in no-parking zones would invite a fine of Rs 1,500 instead of Rs 100 at present.

The fine for talking on mobile phones while driving is proposed to be increased to Rs 1,000 against the existing penalty of Rs 400. There is no clarity on whether hands-free is allowed, although local police officers say that it's banned as it is a "distraction". When pointed out that talking too a co-passenger could then also be seen as a "distraction", one officer laughed it off.

There is also a proposal to introduce some new sections in the Act. For instance, there is a proposal to introduce a new "Section 187-A" under which the civil liability of drivers caught causing injury or damage to another road user due to rash and negligent driving will be fined Rs 5,000. Sources said that Delhi Traffic Police had suggested that the fine should be still higher, Rs 10,000.

It's proposed that the money collected would be put in a "Solatium Fund" for compensation to victims of hit-and-run accident cases.

The fine for commercial vehicles is higher. The fine for overspeeding for trucks, buses and cabs is proposed to be hiked to Rs 2,000. The existing fines were reportedly last revised way back in the late 1970s. Since then traffic conditions, nature of violations and value of money has dramatically changed.

The draft has been prepared by the Union Ministry of Road Transport, Shipping and Highways. "The draft was tabled before the Rajya Sabha on May 15, 2007 and a standing committee was constituted to look into it. The committee gave its recommendations on April 28, 2008 after which the document was sent to various ministries for their comments and views. The final draft is now ready," said a senior ministry official, who pleaded anonymity.

As soon as the new government is formed, the draft will be sent to the concerned ministries for a final approval, after which it will be tabled in Parliament. Sources say that the process will be completed this year itself as it is a "high priority Bill". Said an official: "There are lots of issues involved and the Bill will be discussed in both Houses. It's implementation is already delayed."

When the draft came to Delhi Traffic Police, after it was seen by the Parliamentary Standing Committee, the police reportedly recommended some further changes like different fines for private and commercial vehicles for the same offences.

Similarly, the standing committee recommended different fines for drunken driving as per the alcohol content in the blood — Rs 2,000 for a range of 30-60 ml, Rs 4,000 for 60-150 ml and Rs 5,000 for over 150 ml. But Delhi Traffic Police was reportedly of the opinion that one fine rate of Rs 2,000 for the first offence and Rs 3,000 thereafter would be better.

When contacted, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), S N Shrivastava, said: "We have sent our recommendations to the ministry for the increase. I would not like to comment any further on the matter."