Originally it was the Motor Vehicles Act 1988. Which reveals all rules, regulations, penalties, fines, registration, issuing a license, traffic rules, and all guidelines related to any type of vehicles in India. Recently Motor Vehicles Amendment Act 2019 was passed and president of India signed it into law. Subsequently, it came into force on September 1, 2019. Over the years, Motor Vehicles Act 1988 has become obsolete and many provisions required amendments or replacements.
In addition to this, Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019 is a new version of an old one with very strict penalties for traffic rule violators. To begin with, the penalties are in the form of fines, canceling a license, imprisonment, bonding vehicles, banning driving for one or more years, etc. Hence, the following is a list of the important motor vehicle act new amendments.
Motor Vehicles Amendment Act 2019
| Offense Names | Old Penalties | New Penalties |
| Driving without License | Rs.500/- | Rs.5000/- |
| Driving without Helmet | Rs.100/- | i) Rs.1000/- fine or
ii) License disqualification for 3 months |
| Over Speeding Driving | Rs.400/- | i) Rs.1000/- to Rs.2000/- for Light Motor Vehicle
ii) Rs.2000/- to Rs.4000/- for Medium Passenger or Goods Vehicles iii) Impounding of driving license for the second time/ subsequent offenses |
| Driving Despite Disqualification | Rs.500/- | Rs.10000/- |
| Unauthorized use of Vehicles without License | Rs.1000/- | Rs.5000/- |
| Disobedience of Authority | Rs.500/- | Rs.2000/- |
| Violation of Road Regulations | – | Rs.500/- to Rs.1000/- |
| Penalty for offenses where no penalty is specifically provided | i) Rs.100/- for the first offense
ii) Rs.300/- for the second or later |
i) Rs.500/- for the first offense
ii) Rs.1500/- for the second or later |
| Dangerous Driving | Rs.1000/- | i) First Offence – 6 months to 1-year imprisonment or fine of Rs.1000/ to Rs.5000/-
ii) Second Offence – Imprisonment up to 2 years or fine up to Rs.10000/- |
| Drunken Driving | Rs.2000/- | i) First Offence – Imprisonment up to 6 months or fine up to Rs.10000/-
ii) Second Offence – Imprisonment up to 2 years or fine of Rs.15000/- |
| Driving with Mentally or Physically Unfit | i) Rs.200/- for the first offense
ii) Rs.500/- for the second or later |
i) Rs.1000/- for the first offense
ii) Rs.2000/- for the second or later |
| Accident Related Offences | – | i) First Offence – Imprisonment up to 6 months or fine up to Rs.5000/-
ii) Second Offence – Imprisonment up to 1 year or fine of Rs.10000/- |
| Speeding and Racing | Rs.500/- | i) First Offence – Imprisonment up to 1 month or fine up to Rs.500/-
ii) Second Offence – Imprisonment up to 1 month or fine of Rs.10000/- |
| Driving Uninsured Vehicle | Rs.1000/- fine or up to 3 months punishment | i) First Offence – Imprisonment up to 3 months or Rs.2000/- fine
ii) Second Offence – Imprisonment up to 3 months or Rs.4000/- fine |
| Seizing Motor Vehicle or
Taking Vehicle Unlawfully
|
Rs.500/- | Rs.1000/- |
| Causing Obstruction to Free Flow of Traffic | Rs.50/- | Rs.500/- |
| Overloading (taxi) | – | Rs.1000/- per extra passenger |
| Driving without Seat-belt | Rs.100/- | Rs.1000/- |
| Overloading (two-wheeler) | Rs.100/- | i) Rs.2000/- fine or
ii) License disqualification for 3 months |
| Not Giving Way to Emergency Vehicles | – | Rs.10000/- |
| Offenses by Minors | – | i) Cancel of Vehicle Registration for 1 year
ii) Guardian or Vehicle Owner Deemed Guilty and Rs.25000/- fine with 3-year imprisonment iii) Guilty minors are ineligible to obtain a Driving license until the age of 25 years |
| Violation of PUC norms or No Pollution Slip | i) First Offence – Rs.1000/-
ii) Second Offence – Rs.2000/- |
Rs.10000/- |
Note: In case the offenses committed by enforcing agencies the punishment will be double of applicable penalty.
Important: Furthermore, starting from 1st September 2019, if any passenger travels without ticket in state transport buses, will pay more fines up to Rs.200/- to Rs.500/-.
In Conclusion
The Motor Vehicles Amendment Act 2019, has empowered the traffic police with more penalties. By the way, the government did this to obey traffic rules and for the welfare of the general public. Every day many accidents happen due to the violation of traffic rules. First violators put their lives into danger then others moving on roads.
Above all, always follow traffic rules and regulations for being the good of everyone.
Read also: The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 (pdf)