A Bill aimed at weeding out corruption, improving road safety and promote the use of more technology to regulate traffic was passed on Tuesday in the Lok Sabha with by voice vote.
Speaking on The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019, whichwas moved in the House for passage on Monday, Union Road Transport and HighwaysMinister Nitin Gadkari said “the Bill is not mandatory for states tojoin”. He, however, appealed to all the states to adopt similar policies.
Seeking amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, withincreased penalties for several offences such as driving under the influence ofalcohol or drugs, the Minister said the Bill also provides for grant oflicences and permits related to motor vehicles, standards for motor vehiclesand penalties for violation of these provisions.
Gadkari said that the existing law is 30 years old and thepenalty for traffic rule violators is very low, which does not instill fear ofthe law.
The Minister also said the Central government would facilitatea scheme for cashless treatment of road accident victims for the ‘golden hour’— a time period of up to one hour following a traumatic injury during whichthere is the highest likelihood of preventing death through prompt medicalcare.
The Bill provides a scheme for providing interim relief toclaimants seeking compensation under third party insurance and increases theminimum compensation in hit-and-run cases.
In case of death, there is a provision for Rs 25,000 to Rstwo lakh, and in case of grievous injuries, it is between Rs 12,500 and Rs50,000.
The Bill proposes to increase penalties for several offencesunder the Act. The maximum penalty for driving under the influence of alcoholor drugs has been raised from Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000.
If a vehicle manufacturer fails to comply with motor vehiclestandards, the penalty could go up to Rs 100 crore, or imprisonment of up toone year, or both. Besides, if a contractor fails to comply with road designstandards, the penalty will be a fine of up to Rs one lakh.
The government may increase the fines mentioned under theAct every year by up to 10 per cent.The Bill provides for a National Road SafetyBoard, to be created by the Central government through a notification. TheBoard will advise the Central and state governments on all aspects of roadsafety and traffic management such as standards of motor vehicles, registrationand licensing of vehicles, standards for road safety, and promotion of newvehicle technology.