All you need to know about Motor Vehicles Bill

Motor Vehicles Bill, 2016, has been passed in the Lok Sabha. The introduction of Motor Vehicles Bill was after in the House on April 7. They addressed issues like road safety, e-governance, and insurance in the Bill which amends the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

The amendment now allows the government to make changes in the terms for the better application of rules and regulations. This bill focuses on improved citizen-oriented services, reducing the number of accidents and majorly to reduce the workload of transport offices. The amendment proposes heavy penalties for traffic offenses and 3 years of jail for parents if minor involved in traffic offenses.

Here are the highlights of the Bill:

To bring down traffic offenses, the bill has proposed a three-year jail term for parents of minors involved in the offense. It also proposes a 10-fold increase in compensation to the family of a victim in case of an accident

For third-party insurance, the Bill caps maximum liability in case of an accident, Rs.10 lakh and Rs.5 lakh in case of injury. It will also provide compulsory insurance cover in certain types of accidents for all road users.

To provide quick services the bill proposed to extend the validity of driving licenses. Along with, removing the requirement of minimum qualification to get a driving license issued and online learning. It will also provide for recalling of vehicles in case of any defects. The bill also defines taxi aggregators. The central Government determines the guidelines for the bill. Currently, the respective state governments are regulating the guidelines.

Penalty under Motor Vehicle Act:

At present, under the Motor Vehicle Act, there is no provision which provides the power to the state government to increase the penalty. However, the new bill has already provided this in the Act. The Amendment Bill of 2016, proposes insertion of new Section i.e. 210A. Under this section, the power has been given to the State Government to specify a multiplier. The multiplier shall not be less than 1 and shall not exceed to 10, is applied to every fine. With this amendment, the State government will be able to increase fine in their respective states and the areas.

The fine proposed in the present amendment is not sufficient in achieving the purpose of the amended bill. Those areas may increase the fine up to a certain limit in order to reduce the road accidents in that area. For example, the proposed fine for overloading of two – wheeler is Rs.1000/-. The State Government will be able to increase the fine from Rs.1000/- to maximum Rs.10,000/- in their respective state.

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