MOTOR VEHICLES AMENDMENT BILL, 2019

Introduction

The Motor Vehicle Act came with the objective of amending the laws related to motor vehicles. As per Section 2(28) of the Act, a motor vehicle “motor vehicle” or “vehicle” means any mechanically propelled vehicle adapted for use upon roads whether the power of propulsion is transmitted from an external or internal source and includes a chassis to which a body has not been attached and a trailer; but does not include a vehicle running upon fixed rails or a vehicle of a special type adapted for use only in a factory or in any other enclosed premises or a vehicle having less than four wheels fitted with engine capacity of not exceeding twenty-five cubic centimeters.

The Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 has been amended with the huge increase in various penalties.  The objective behind this Amendment is to reduce the number of accidents happening around us by increasing the amount of fine with almost 10 times into the amount previously described, as said by Mr. Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport and Highways. The statistics on the number of car accidents are very devastating. The amendments also aim to strengthen rural transport, public transport, and last-mile connectivity through automation, computerization, and online services.

The main characteristic of the Bill is that it makes Aadhar mandatory for the license and the vehicle registration.

The main features of the Amendment Bill are:

1. Road Safety

In 2019, the main amendment which can be seen in this Bill is the increase of the larger amount of value on the fine which is imposed on the traffic violations. This is done to act as a future deterrent. So, that next time the people should be more careful while doing any kind of violations.

2. Vehicle Fitness

Providing stricter punishment on traffic violations is one aspect of the betterment of the situation of road accidents but vehicle fitness is also one of the important aspects. Maintaining the vehicle in all ways can sometimes actually save the person to face an accident. Due to vehicle unfitness, many accidents have been caused.

3. Recall of Vehicles

Recall of vehicles occurs when there is the safety-related defect or when the vehicle does not comply with the federal safety standard. The Bill mandates the recall of defective motor vehicles if the defect may cause a threat to the environment, or the driver or other people on the road. In such a case, the recalled vehicle’s manufacturer will have to:

(i) Reimburse the vehicle owner with the full cost of the vehicle

(ii) Replace the defective vehicle with another vehicle of similar make.

4. Road Safety Board

The Bill provides for setting up of a National Road Safety Board by the Central Government. The National Road Safety Board will be required to advise the Central and State Governments on all aspects of road safety and traffic management including registration and licensing of vehicles, standards of motor vehicles, standards for road safety and promotion of new vehicle technology.

5. Protection of Good Samaritan

The Bill defines ‘Good Samaritan’ as a person who provides emergency medical or non-medical assistance to a road accident victim and provides rules to prevent harassment of such a person. The bill incorporates Good Samaritan guidelines in order to help road accident victims. The Bill provides for a scheme for cashless treatment of road accident victims during “golden hour”- defined as the first one hour since the occurrence of the accident. To help the victims from the accidents, this Good Samaritan encourages the people to come forward.

6. Better Compensation and Insurance Coverage

As per the existing law, the compensation of hit-and-run cases is Rs. 25,000/- in the cases of deaths. This has been increased to Rs 2 lakhs and in case of injuries caused; the compensation has been increased from Rs. 12,500/- to Rs. 50,000/-. A motor vehicle accident fund will be created at the Central level to provide compulsory insurance cover to all road users and compensation to victims of road accidents.

This Bill seeks maximum accountability for third party insurance in case of a vehicle accident at Rs 10 lakhs in case of death and Rs. 5 lakhs in case of grievous injury.

7. National Transportation Policy

The Central Government may develop a National Transportation Policy, in consultation with State Governments.  The Policy will: (i) establish a planning framework for road transport, (ii) develop a framework for the grant of permits, and (iii) specify priorities for the transport system, among other things.

Let us take a look at the number of different violations with the amount of old and new fine.