After a man was fined Rs 23,000, under the new Motor Vehicles Amendment Act, 2019 for violating traffic rules in Gurugram on Tuesday. The act was implemented on September 1, 2019, and aims to tighten road traffic regulations and impose stricter penalties for violations in an attempt to improve road safety and encourage traffic discipline.

Centre's new traffic laws aimed at curbing violations

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has released a notification on August 28, 2019, informing the people about which laws are included in the Act. The statement says that the act has enhanced "penalty for offences where no penalty is specifically provided for- first offence from Rs 100 to Rs 500 and second/subsequent offence from up to Rs 300 to Rs 1,500." The new Act is aimed at enhancing traffic penalties and thus curbing traffic violations.

READ: Gurugram man slapped with Rs. 23,000 challan, netizens have field day

New Penalties regarding these violations were also revised according to the Act.

• The penalty for drunk driving is raised to Rs 10,000 or 6 months imprisonment in case of the first offence, and two-year imprisonment or Rs 15,000 fine in case of a second offence
• Fine for driving without a license has increased from Rs 500 to Rs 5,000
• Fine for travelling without a ticket has gone up from Rs 200 to Rs 500
• Penalty for driving without a license or unauthorised use of a vehicle has increased from Rs 1,000 to 5,000
• Penalty for overspeeding or racing has increased to imprisonment for a month or a fine of Rs 500 in case of the first offence and a month of imprisonment or a fine of Rs 10,000 in case of a second offence
• Penalty for not wearing a seatbelt has increased from Rs 100 to Rs 1,000
• In case of punishment for juveniles, there will be a penalty of Rs 25,000 or imprisonment up to three years, along with the cancellation of registration of the motor vehicle for 12 months. The juvenile also becomes ineligible for obtaining a learner's license until the age of 25
• Penalty for driving an uninsured vehicle will be Rs 2,000 or imprisonment up to three months for the first offence and fine of Rs 4000 and/or imprisonment up to three months for the second offence
• In offences related to accidents, there will be a penalty of Rs 5,000 or imprisonment up to 6 months in case of a first offence and imprisonment up to one year or a fine of Rs10,000 in case of a second offence
• Causing obstruction to traffic will get you a penalty of Rs 500
• In the case of overspeeding, a fine of Rs1,000 - Rs 2,000 for light motor vehicle and Rs 4,000 for a medium passenger or goods vehicles will be imposed
• Driving a vehicle when mentally or physically unfit will be fined with Rs 1,000 for the first offence and Rs 2,000 for a subsequent offence

READ: Mob barges into Gurugram home, attacks family with rods & sticks; FIR filed

Other new rules and provisions under the Act

• Aadhaar made mandatory for issuing Driver's License
• Compensation provided incase of Hit and Run accidents to families has been increased from Rs 25,000 to Rs 2 lakh
• Office or residence address in a driver's licence can be changed online or with any registering authority within the state
• Minimum educational qualification to drive a motor vehicle has been removed
• In case of traffic violations by juveniles, he or she will be tried under the Juvenile Justice Act and the owner of the vehicle will be held responsible "unless they prove that the offence was committed without their knowledge or they had tried to prevent it"

READ: Pub in Gurugram launches first-ever 'female beer', fills netizens with fury