The Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill 2019 has been passed in the Lok Sabha as well as the Rajya Sabha. Importantly, the fines have increased by a huge margin.
The 1988 Motor Vehicles Act has received some changes to the provisions. Lok Sabha as well as Rajya Sabha have cleared the way for the 2019 Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill and the biggest change comes in the form of penalties levied.
The same bill was passed in Lok Sabha back in April 2017, but the higher authority Rajya Sabha did not approve it. The new bill sees new penalties, increased compensation for victims and insurance-related solutions.
Here is the complete list of all the penalties and highlights of the 2019 Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill:
1. Penalties
The penalties have been increased by a huge margin which includes a lot of common offences that have been committed by us some time or other.
| Offence | Old Fine | New Fine |
| General | 100 | 500 |
| No License | 500 | 5000 |
| Driving without qualification | 500 | 10,000 |
| Dangerous Driving | 1000 | Up to 5000 |
| Overspeeding | 400 | 2000 |
| Drunk Driving | 2,000 | 10,000 |
| Accident by Minor | – | Owner to be held guilty with a fine of Rs 25,00 and 3 years imprisonment |
| Seat Belt | 100 | 1000 |
| Vehicle Without permit | 5000 | 10,000 |
| No Bus Ticket | 200 | 500 |
2. Vehicle Recall
With this change, the Central Government can now recall vehicles in case the said vehicle might cause damage to the driver or other vehicles on the road. Earlier, only the manufacturer of the affected vehicle could issue the recall.
3. Compensation for road accident victims
The kin of the victims affected in the hit and run cases will now get 2 Lakhs in case of death and Rs 50,000 in case of grievous injury. Also, the government is planning to develop a scheme which will allow cashless treatment of road accident victims for a time period of up to one hour following the injury.
4. Good Samaritans
A person who gives emergency medical or non-medical assistance to a victim, in good faith, voluntarily and without any expectation of a reward, will not be held responsible for the death or injury of the accident victim at that time.
5. Compulsory Insurance
In the 2019 Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill, a new fund will be put to provide compulsory insurance cover for treatment of persons injured in road accidents as per the golden hour scheme, compensation to the kin of the victim if dead and injured, and to a person specified by the central government.
