The government is all set to tug the leash on anyone who thinks that following traffic rules is optional and that they can get away with anything. The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 came into effect on 1st September and the major change we saw was an unbelievably huge difference in the fine charges for breaking traffic rules.
The people who used to play traffic officers by the hand are now getting fined a huge sum of money and there is chaos everywhere in light of these new amendments. There is a section of the public who believes that it’s for the betterment and then there’s another section who believes that all government wants is their hard-earned money by any means possible.
Recently, there was a case where a Delhi based man was charged 23,000 INR by Gurugram police when he was caught violating multiple sets of rules. But the funny thing was that the man refused to pay the fine and said that his second-hand vehicle cost him half the price of challan.
He mentioned later on in a statement that “I am shocked and have not been able to sleep at night as it is not a small amount but a very big one. I was not carrying the documents with me and I told them (the police) that the documents are at home post which they asked me to have them brought over in 10 minutes. I informed that I am a resident of Delhi and we are near the Gurugram court, so how will I be able to get them? …Then they asked for my keys and said that it (Madan’s vehicle) is going to be impounded.”
The changed fine list according to The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019:
| Offense | Old challan/ penalty | New challan/ penalty | |
| General | ₹100 | ₹500 | |
| Rules of road regulation violation | ₹100 | ₹500 | |
| Disobedience of orders of authorities | ₹500 | ₹2,000 | |
| Unauthorized use of vehicles without license | ₹1,000 | ₹5,000 | |
| Driving without licence | ₹500 | ₹5,000 | |
| Driving despite disqualification | ₹500 | ₹10,000 | |
| Oversize vehicles | N/A | ₹5,000 | |
| Over-speeding | ₹400 | ₹1,000 | |
| Dangerous driving | ₹1,000 | Up to ₹5,000 | |
| Drink driving | ₹2,000 | ₹10,000
| |
| Speeding/Racing | ₹500 | ₹5,000 | |
| Vehicle without permit | Up to ₹5,000 | Up to ₹10,000 | |
| Aggregators (violations of licensing conditions) | N/A | ₹25,000 to ₹1 lakh | |
| Overloading | ₹2,000 and ₹1,000 per extra tonne | ₹20,000 and ₹2,000 per extra tonne | |
| Overloading of passengers | N/A | ₹1,000 per extra passenger | |
| Seat belt | ₹100 | ₹1,000 | |
| Overloading of two-wheelers | ₹100 | ₹2,000 and disqualification of license for 3 months | |
| Helmets | ₹100 | ₹1,000 and disqualification of license for 3 months | |
| Not providing a way for emergency vehicles | N/A | ||
| Driving without insurance | ₹1,000 | ₹2,000 | |
| Offenses by juveniles | N/A | Guardian/owner shall be deemed to be guilty. ₹25,000 with 3 years imprisonment. Juvenile will be tried under the JJ Act. Registration of the vehicle will be canceled. | |
| Power of officers to impound documents | N/A | Suspension of driving licenses | |
| Offenses committed by enforcing authorities | N/A | Twice the penalty under the relevant section | |
| Violating Air Pollution Standards | 1000 | ₹10,000 | |
| Driving without pollution certificate | N/A | ₹2,000 |
The Twitterati can not let this golden opportunity go and they had readied their arsenal filled with meme-tools and flooded the social media with hilarious posts, let’s look at what they have done.
New traffic rules.
Pic 1: Before paying challan.
Pic 2: After paying challan. pic.twitter.com/ggUkhddhx1— Keh Ke Peheno (@coolfunnytshirt) September 3, 2019
The Delhi police recorded issuing a total of 3900 challans on the very first day of amendment of new rules. While the public might be a little hesitant about the new rules, the officers are sure enjoying it and we can clearly observe more police force on every corner of the city. The new fine scheme is supposed to bring a positive change in the way Indian follow rules and regulations.