Steep penalties proposed for traffic violators

The Centre on Wednesday approved the long-pending Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which proposes hefty penalties for traffic rule violators. These will include a fine of up to Rs 10,000 for drunken driving and Rs 2 lakh compensation in hit-and-run cases.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which approved the Bill, has suggested several steep penalties against errant drivers. The suggestions for stricter penalties were made by a high-level committee of transport ministers from 18 states, headed by Rajasthan Transport Minister Yunus Khan.

With steep fines, the government is committed to reducing accidents and fatalities by 50% by 2020, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari told DH. India witnessed the highest number of road accidents in the world, with five lakh road accidents every year in which 1.5 lakh people have lost their lives.

The provisions also include that the guardian or owner will be deemed to be guilty in case of a road offence by juveniles, while the registration of the vehicle will be cancelled.