Goa to implement steep motor vehicles fines from January

Goa will copy the ‘Gujarat model’ to implement the provisions of the new Motor Vehicle Act including the steep fines from January 2020, Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho announced on Monday.

Goa, which is one of the few states to defer the implementation of the Act, had held off initially on account of mounting public anger against the poor state of the roads, but will see the higher fines soon .

“We have more or less readied the MV Act, we have copied the Gujarat model. In Gujarat they said that certain fines were very steep it will affect the common man. More or less I have also followed the Gujarat model, which many other states have also followed, because they said Gujarat led from the front,” Mauvin Godinho said.

“There are several key ingredients in the new Motor Vehicle Act amendment where the fines as mandated by Centre, we cannot change, they will remain the same. But wherever it has been possible to lower it because looking at the practicality we have lowered it. By no means we will stop implementing the new fines from January,” Godinho said.

Among the fines that won’t be tinkered with include the fines on drunken driving as well on driving without licence that will continue to be steep.

No sooner was the Act passed in Parliament in the century, it made headlines for the steep fines that motorists were subjected to, in some cases running into tens of thousands of Rupees.

Goa is yet to notify the Act as amended by parliament meaning the Transport Department and the traffic police continue to follow the old regime of fines and penalties.