The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was passed by Rajya Sabha today. Speaking on the occasion Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport & Highways and MSME said that this was a matter of great happiness for him. He said the much needed amendments will improve road safety, facilitate citizens in their dealings with transport departments, strengthen rural transport, public transport and last mile connectivity through automation, computerization and online services. The Minister reiterated that the Bill would, in no way, encroach upon the powers and authorities of the states. He said the Bill would rather empower the states. He added that the Bill will provide an efficient, safe and corruption free transport system in the country.
The Bill has been passed
with three Government amendments and will need to go back to Lok Sabha. The Lok
Sabha had already passed the Bill on the 23rd of July 2019.
The Motor Vehicles
(Amendment) Bill, 2019 is based on the recommendations of the Group of
Transport Ministers (GoM) of States constituted by the Ministry of Road
Transport & Highways to address the issue of road safety and to improve the
facilitation of the citizens while dealing with transport departments. The GoM was headed by
Shri. Yoonus Khan, the then Transport Minister of Rajasthan, and had
18 State Transport Ministers from different political parties as members. On the basis of recommendations of the GoM
and other pressing requirements, the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways
introduced the Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill 2016. This, along with
amendments, was passed by Lok Sabha on 10th April, 2017. The Bill as passed by
Lok Sabha was introduced in Rajya Sabha and was referred to the Select
Committee of the Rajya Sabha on 08.08.2017. The Select Committee presented its
report to the Parliament on 22nd December, 2017. The Bill was pending in the
Rajya Sabha and lapsed with the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha.
The amendments in the
Bill mainly focus on issues relating to improving road safety, citizens’
facilitation while dealing with the transport department, strengthening rural
transport, last mile connectivity and public transport, automation and
computerization and enabling online services. Some of the important areas of
amendment are as follows:
Road Safety
In the area of road
safety, the Bill proposes to increase penalties to act as deterrent against
traffic violations. Stricter provisions
are being proposed in respect of offences like juvenile driving, drunken
driving, driving without licence, dangerous driving, over-speeding, overloading
etc. Stricter provisions for helmets
have been introduced along with provisions for electronic detection of
violations. Penalty regarding motor
vehicles is to be increased by 10 % every year..
Proposed Amendments in Various
Penalties under Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill – 2019
Section |
|
Old
Provision / Penalty |
New
Proposed Provision / Minimum Penalties |
177 |
General |
Rs 100 |
Rs 500 |
New 177A |
Rules of road regulation violation |
Rs 100 |
Rs 500 |
178 |
Travel without ticket |
RS 200 |
Rs 500 |
179 |
Disobedience of orders of
authorities |
Rs 500 |
Rs 2000 |
180 |
Unautorized use of vehicles
without licence |
Rs 1000 |
Rs 5000 |
181 |
Driving without licence |
Rs 500 |
Rs 5000 |
182 |
Driving despite disqualification |
Rs 500 |
Rs 10,000 |
182 B |
Oversize vehicles |
New |
Rs 5000 |
183 |
Over speeding |
Rs 400 |
Rs 1000 for LMV Rs 2000 for Medium passenger
vehicle |
184 |
Dangerous driving penalty |
Rs 1000 |
Upto Rs 5000 |
185 |
Drunken driving |
Rs 2000 |
Rs 10,000 |
189 |
Speeding / Racing |
Rs 500 |
Rs 5,000 |
192 A |
Vehicle without permit |
upto Rs 5000 |
Upto Rs 10,000 |
193 |
Aggregators (violations of
licencing conditions) |
New |
Rs 25,000 to Rs 1,00,000 |
194 |
Overloading |
Rs 2000 and Rs 1000 per extra tonne |
Rs 20,000 and Rs 2000 per extra tonne |
194 A |
Overloading of passengers |
|
Rs 1000 per extra passenger |
194 B |
Seat belt |
Rs 100 |
Rs 1000 |
194 C |
Overloading of two wheelers |
Rs 100 |
Rs 2000, Disqualification for 3
months for licence |
194 D |
Helmets |
Rs 100 |
Rs 1000 Disqualification for 3
months for licence |
194 E |
Not providing way for emergency
vehicles |
New |
Rs 10,000 |
196 |
Driving Without Insurance |
RS 1000 |
Rs 2000 |
199 |
Offences by Juveniles |
New |
Guardian / owner shall be deemed
to be guilty. Rs 25,000 with 3 yrs imprisonment. For Juvenile to be tried
under JJ Act. Registration of Motor Vehicle to be cancelled |
206 |
Power of Officers to impound
documents |
|
Suspension of driving licenses u/s
183, 184, 185, 189, 190, 194C, 194D, 194E |
210 B |
Offences committed by enforcing
authorities |
|
Twice the penalty under the
relevant section |
Vehicle Fitness
The Bill mandates
automated fitness testing for vehicles.
This would reduce corruption in the transport department while improving
the road worthiness of the vehicle.
Penalty has been provided for
deliberate violation of safety/environmental regulations as well as body
builders and spare part suppliers. The process for testing and certification
for automobiles is proposed to be regulated more effectively. The testing agencies issuing automobile
approvals have been brought under the ambit of the Act and standards will be
set for motor vehicle testing institutes.The Bill also provides for compulsory
recall of defective vehicles and power to examine irregularities of vehicle
companies.
Recall of Vehicles
The Bill allows the central government to order for recall
of motor vehicles if a defect in the vehicle may cause damage to the
environment, or the driver, or other road users. The manufacturer of the
recalled vehicle will be required to: (i) reimburse the buyers for the full
cost of the vehicle, or (ii) replace the defective vehicle with another vehicle
with similar or better specifications.
Road Safety Board
The Bill provides for a
National Road Safety Board, to be created by the central government through a
notification. The Board will advise the central and state governments on
all aspects of road safety and traffic management including standards of motor
vehicles, registration and licensing of
vehicles, standards for road safety,
and promotion of new vehicle technology.
Protection of Good Samaritan
To help road
accident victims, Good Samaritan guidelines have been incorporated in the
Bill. The Bill defines a Good Samaritan
as a person who renders emergency medical or non-medical assistance to a victim
at the scene of an accident, and provides rules to prevent harassment of such a
person.
Cashless Treatment
during Golden Hour
The Bill provides for a scheme for cashless treatment of road
accident victims during golden hour.
Third Party Insurance
The Bill has included the driver’s attendant in 3rd
Party insurance. There will be no cap on liability of insurers. There will be a
10 time increase in insurance compensation, from Rs 50, 000 to Rs 5 lakh. Claim
process has been simplified. Insurance firms have to pay claims within a month,
if the victim’s family agree to accept Rs 5 lakh compensation. The
Bill also increases the minimum compensation for hit and run cases from Rs
25,000 to two lakh rupees in case of death, and from Rs 12,500 to Rs 50,000 in
case of grievous injury.
Motor
Vehicle Accident Fund
The Bill requires the
central government to constitute a Motor Vehicle Accident Fund, to provide
compulsory insurance cover to all road users in India. It will be
utilised for: treatment of persons
injured in road accidents as per the golden hour scheme, compensation to representatives of a person
who died in a hit and run accident,
compensation to a person grievously hurt in a hit and run accident, and compensation to any other persons as
prescribed by the central government. This Fund will be credited through:
payment of a nature notified by the central government, a grant or loan made by the central
government, balance of the Solatium Fund
(existing fund under the Act to provide compensation for hit and run
accidents),or any other source as prescribed the central government.
Improving Services using
e-Governance
Improving delivery of
services to the stakeholders using e-Governance is one of the major focuses of
this Bill. This includes
● Provision for online driving licenses.
The Bill provides for online Learners Licence with mandatory online identity verification
Driving test will be computerized to avoid fake D.L. The Bill will bring transparency in RTO
offices. Commercial licenses will be valid upto five instead of three years. Application for renewal can be
made one year prior to or after licence lapses. Driver Training Schools will be
opened so that more efficient drivers may be available.
●
Process of Vehicle
Registration
To improve the
registration process for new vehicles, registration at the end of the dealer is
being enabled and restrictions have been imposed on temporary
registration. The Minister has however
assured that provisions will be made to provide for inspection of the vehicle
by RTO
To bring harmony of the
registration and licensing process, it is proposed to create National Register
for Driving Licence and National Register for Vehicle registration through
“Vahan” & “Sarathi” platforms. This will facilitate uniformity of the
process across the country.
●
Drivers Training
The driving training
process has been strengthened enabling faster issuance of transport
licenses. This will help in reducing the
shortage of commercial drivers in the country. More and more drivers training
schools and vehicle fitness centres will be opened
To facilitate transport
solutions for Divyang, the bottlenecks have been removed in respect of grant of
driving licenses as well as alterations in the vehicles to make it fit for
their use .
Reforms in
Transportation System
Development of integrated Transport System will be possible from
the National Transportation Policy.
This will also enhance the powers of the State Governments, provide better last
mile connectivity, rural transport etc.
Taxi aggregators:
The Bill defines aggregators as digital intermediaries or market
places which can be used by passengers to connect with a driver for
transportation purposes (taxi services). The Bill provides guidelines for
Aggregators. At present there are no rules in many states for regulating
aggregators, taxis etc.
Reforms in Driving Licences
The Bill provides for online Learners Licence. Provision of online identity verification
Aadhar Card has been made mandatory for making Driving Licences and driving test of the applicant will be
computerized to avoid fake D.L. The Bill
will bring transparency in RTO offices. Commercial licenses will be valid upto
five instead of three years. Application
for renewal can be made one year prior to or after licence lapses. Driver
Training Schools will be opened so that more efficient driver may be available.
Simplification in the
process of vehicle registration
The vehicle owners may register their vehicle anywhere in the
state and process of registration will be done by dealers. Differently abled
persons will get facilities for registration of vehicles. Checking of fitness
of vehicles will be computerised and laws for scrapping of old vehicle. Now
since the National Register is in place, transfer of vehicle from one city to
another will be easier and the stolen vehicles will not get registered.
Reforms in
Transportation System
Development of integrated Transport System will be possible from
the National Transportation Policy. This will also enhance the powers of the
State Governments, provide better last mile connectivity, rural transport etc.
The Bill provides guidelines for Aggregators. At present there are no rules in
many states for regulating aggregators, taxis etc.
Recall of vehicles: The Bill allows the central government to order for recall of
motor vehicles if a defect in the vehicle may cause damage to the environment,
or the driver, or other road users. The manufacturer of the recalled
vehicle will be required to: (i) reimburse the buyers for the full cost of the
vehicle, or (ii) replace the defective vehicle with another vehicle with
similar or better specifications.
National Transportation Policy: The central government may develop a National
Transportation Policy, in consultation with state governments. The Policy
will: (i) establish a planning framework for road transport, (ii) develop a
framework for grant of permits, and (iii) specify priorities for the transport
system, among other things.
Offences and penalties: The Bill increases penalties for several offences under the
Act. For example, the maximum penalty for driving under the influence of
alcohol or drugs has been increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000. If a
vehicle manufacturer fails to comply with motor vehicle standards, the penalty
will be a fine of up to Rs 100 crore, or imprisonment of up to one year, or
both. If a contractor fails to comply with road design standards, the
penalty will be a fine of up to one lakh rupees. The central government
may increase fines mentioned under the Act every year by up to 10%.
Taxi aggregators: The Bill defines aggregators as digital intermediaries or market
places which can be used by passengers to connect with a driver for
transportation purposes (taxi services). These aggregators will be issued
licenses by state Further, they must comply with the Information
Technology Act, 2000.
25 Apr 2019
25 Apr 2019
13 May 2019
24 Jul 2019
10 May 2019
© Copyrights 2019 Bigbuzz. All rights reserved.