The state government has amended the Motor Vehicle Act for the 2nd time in 8 months. Some of the penalty amount has been reduced bringing some relief. The penalties in the Motor Vehicle Act enforced in September 2019 were creating disputes and arguments among the vehicle owners and the RTO flying squads. The amendments are likely to reduce these tensions to a great extent.

As per the budget this year, the state government has reduced some of the penalties which do not include penalties on people without seat belts and helmets. These penalties will remain unchanged as they are imperative from security point of view.

Earlier the penalty on 2-wheelers was 1000 rupees for more than 1 pillion rider. This has been reduced to 100 rupees. On the other hand if the permit regulations are violated, 2000 to 5000 rupees will have to be paid as penalty as compared to 10,000 rupees prior to the amendment.

Here is a list of various penalties under the Motor Vehicle Act 2019:

1. 100 rupees on minor violations for 2 and 3 wheelers, 200 rupees for others
2. 100 rupees if caught travelling without ticket in buses
3. Vehicles with passengers beyond capacity @ 200 rupees/passenger
4. 1000 rupees for driving without using seat belt
5. 500 rupees for not using seat belt for children under 14 years of age
6. 100 rupees for more than 1 pillion rider
7. 1000 rupees for not giving space to an ambulance passing through the traffic
8. Unnecessary honking of horn- 500 rupees
9. Horn honking in prohibited zone- 1000 rupees
10. Violation of permit rules-5000 rupees for cars, 2000 rupees for 2-wheelers, 3-wheelers and buses, Heavy transport vehicles 10,000 rupees
11. Riding without helmet-1000 rupees
12. Overloaded vehicles @5000 rupees/tonne
13. Over-speeding 1000 rupees for light transport vehicles, 2000 rupees for heavy transport vehicles
14. Refusing to produce documents or relevant information-1000 rupees
15.  If the driver is mentally or physically unfit for driving-500 to 1000 rupees
16. Approval to unauthorised person for driving the vehicle-5000 rupees
17. 500 rupees if the conductors do not follow their duties
18. Races organised without taking permission from the government- 5000 rupees (1st instance), 10000 rupees (2nd instance)