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Rs 10000 fine for drunk driving retained | Enhanced traffic violation penalties implemented in Rajasthan

By UdaipurTimes Team Jul 10, 2020, 21:05 IST

The amendments in the Central Motor Vehicles Act, implemented in September 2019, were finally released in Rajasthan as a part of the amendments to the Motor Vehicles (Amendments) Act on 9 July. Penalties were slashed to a tenth of what was recommended in the Central government gazette notification.

Though the Central Motor Vehicles Act was implemented in the state, being a gazette notification, there were provisions in the act, which could be reviewed by the state and it was left to the discretion of the state.

Accordingly, the new Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act for Rajasthan has come into effect on Thursday 9 July with enhanced penalties for 36 traffic offences, the most common of which are as follows:

  • Jumping the traffic signal will be penalised with Rs 1,000 instead of the central government suggest Rs 10,000. The same penalty of Rs 1,000 will be applicable for not wearing a helmet or a seat belt and for talking on the phone while driving.  Rs 10,000 was suggested for these offences as well.
  • The new act has retained a Rs 10,000 penalty for drunken driving, while removing the 6 month imprisonment clause.
  • The fine for a first time charge of reckless driving will be Rs 1,000 and if there is a repeat violation, the penalty will be Rs 10,000.

A major concern of Rajasthan was the enhancing of penalties for 36 traffic offences, which the state government felt were highly taxing for the residents. Accordingly, after deliberations of nearly a year, the final traffic offence penalties were released as a part of the amended Motor Vehicles Act on 9 July. State minister of transport Pratap Singh Khachariyavas, speaking on the occasion said that Rajasthan aims to promote road safety, rather than induce residents to flee from the traffic regulators due to high fines, and cause forced accidents.

Last year in September, when the Motor Vehicles Act was implemented, Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways had said that it was not mandatory for states to join, but appealed to all states to adopt these policies.