Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill Tabled In Parliament

Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highway, has tabled the Motor Vehicle Amendment bill in the Lok Sabha today. The updated Motor Vehicles Act has been in coming a long time and is expected to make our roads safer with strict rules and hefty increase in penalties for traffic violations.

The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill was first announced in 2016 and was pending for approval in the Rajya Sabha. However, the bill was never approved during the government's previous tenure. The Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill was made in consultation with transport ministers from 18 states along with discussion with other standing committees.

One of the major components of the Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill looks to increase the traffic fines significantly. For example, the fine for not wearing a seatbelt or a helmet will go up from ₹ 100 currently to ₹ 1,000. The fine for over-speeding will be raised to ₹ 5,000 from the current ₹ 500. And the fine for drinking and driving has been increased from ₹ 2,000 to ₹ 10,000.