Hefty fines, jail for traffic violations in Delhi

If you are a bad driver, there’s a very good reason for you to improve your behaviour on the roads because the government is one step closer to amending a law that will come down heavily on traffic violations. Moushumi Das Gupta reports. Under new draft bill

If you are a bad driver, there’s a very good reason for you to improve your behaviour on the roads because the government is one step closer to amending a law that will come down heavily on traffic violations.

Not only will offences such as speeding, dangerous driving and using your mobile while driving invite hefty fines but drunk driving could even land you in jail for up to three months and get your licence cancelled for the same duration.

After dilly-dallying for four years, the road transport and highways ministry is now ready with the draft Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill.

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"Last week, the law ministry had given its nod to the bill. It will now go to the cabinet. Hopefully, it will be introduced in the winter session," said AK Upadhyay, secretary, road transport and highways.

The ministry seems to have finally woken up to the fact that India has the highest rate of road accident deaths in the world — one death every four minutes.

Last year, the number of people who died in road accidents was a staggering 160,000 across the country.

The new features of the draft bill include graded fines for offences such as drunk driving. This means that the penalty will be directly proportional to the alcohol content found above the stipulated limit of 30 mg per 100 ml of blood in the driver’s body.

The fines for various traffic offences have been enhanced from Rs 500 for a minor offence to a maximum of Rs 20,000 for driving an unregistered vehicle.

At present, the fines vary between Rs 100 and Rs 5,000.

Besides, in case of death in a road accident, the compensation has been enhanced to Rs 1 lakh from the current Rs 25,000.