Come September, Brace For Stiffer Traffic Fines

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New Delhi: The Motor Vehicle Act 2019, which was recently passed by the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, will come into effect from September 1.

The new Act has been significantly updated and traffic fines have been exponentially increased too, NDTV reported.

In some cases, the fines have been increased by up to 10 times. For example, if one is caught driving without license, the proposed fine now would be Rs 5,000 as against the earlier Rs 500.

Similarly, if one is caught drinking and driving, the offender will be fined ₹ 10,000 instead of ₹ 2,000 which is the current norm. The bill also proposes that the amount of traffic violation fines should be increased at the rate of 10 per cent per year.

Dangerous driving will attract a fine of Rs 5,000 under the new law as against the earlier Rs 1,000. Similarly, the penalty for talking on mobile phone while driving will be Rs 5,000 agisnt the old amount of Rs 1,000/

Apart from stiffer penalties, the new law also addresses other talking points such as new rules for issuing driving licenses, recognising app-based cab aggregators and even setting guidelines for vehicle recalls.

The Act also reduces the validity of the driving licence from the current 20 years to just 10 years. Those renewing their licenses between the age of 50 and 55 years will have validity only till 60 years. And those renewing the licence after the age of 55, will have validity only of five years.