As Motor Vehicle bill lapses, hike in fine for violations stuck in limbo

“The new Bill had proposed several stringent provisions to make Indian roads much safer but it can’t be implemented as the Rajya Sabha has not passed the Bill. The insurance industry was keenly waiting for its passage as a lot of things relating to the motor insurance, the largest segment in the insurance industry, would have also got streamlined,” said an official of an insurance company.

According to insurance sector officials, the revival of the Amendment Bill will take time as general elections have been announced and a new government will take over in May this year. They added that the current Motor Vehicles Act is archaic and needs an update and revision.

In the amendment Bill, the government proposed a compensation of Rs 2 lakh or more to the victim’s family as against Rs 25,000 currently for deaths in hit-and-run cases. It also proposed that the minimum fine for drunk driving be raised from Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000 and the fine for rash driving from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000.

“The current fines were fixed years ago and violators get away rather lightly. Over 1.4 lakh people die in motor accidents in India every year. There’s a need to prevent violations that cause fatal accidents,” said an insurance official.

Another major proposal was that driving without a licence would attract a minimum fine of Rs 5,000 as against Rs 500 now and the fine for over-speeding would have gone up from Rs 400 to Rs 1,000-2,000.

With regard to using mobile phone while driving, the proposed Bill recommended a fine of Rs 5,000, up from Rs 1,000. Not wearing a seat belt would have attracted a fine of Rs 1,000 as against the current Rs 100.

The Bill proposed that in case of traffic violations by juveniles, the guardian or owner of the vehicle would be held responsible unless they prove the offence was committed without their knowledge or they tried to prevent the violation or rules. It also proposed that the registration of the motor vehicle driven by a juvenile be cancelled and the juvenile be tried under the Juvenile Justice Act.

The Bill had provisions to safeguard people who come forward to help accident victims and prot them from civil or criminal liability. It would have made it optional for them to disclose their identity to police or medical personnel.

Currently, good Samaritans who help accident victims are forced to appear in court repeatedly, prompting people to refrain from helping accident victims.

The Bill had also proposed removal of the cap on liability for third-party motor insurance, the segment in which insurers have made huge underwriting losses.

The existing Bill had capped the maximum liability at Rs 10 lakh in case of death and Rs 5 lakh in case of grievous injury. The government would be empowered to recall vehicles whose components or engine do not meet the required standards and vehicle manufacturers could be fined up to Rs 500 crore in the case of sub-standard components or engine.

In 2017, a total of 4.64 lakh road accidents were reported in the country, claiming 1.47 lakh lives and injuring 4.71 lakh persons.