Union Minister of Transport, Nitin Gadkari, has called out the Congress on Wednesday for their mockery of the new traffic rules violation fines entailed in the Motor Vehicle Amendments Act. Reacting to the Opposition's comments following the implementation of the Act on Wednesday, Gadkari clarified that the government had no selfish motives to impose hefty challans on those who break traffic rules. The increase in traffic penalties is geared towards serving as a more effective deterrent for serial violators. 

A day after senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal had picked up on the viral incident of a Gurugram man being fined Rs 23,000 for not wearing a helmet and not possessing registration documents,  Gadkari said, "Do not politicise when it comes to road safety".

READ | New traffic fines stir debate: Here's how violations are viewed abroad

READ | Gurugram's Dinesh Madan handed Rs 23,000 traffic challan, here's how

Traffic rules violation fines hiked

The Union Ministry of Transport on August 28 released a notification updating people about the new traffic laws. Under the new Act, the fines for those who do not follow the traffic rules have been hiked. As per the new notification, the fine for drunken driving has been gone up to Rs. 10,000 if it's a first offence or 6 months of imprisonment. Fine for other offences, such as driving without a license has been increased from Rs. 500 to Rs. 5,000.

The fines for violation of the traffic rules have been hiked to ensure that people follow traffic rules. Road safety is a big concern in India, as a lot of people get injured or lose their lives in road accidents every day. Last year 13,059 people lost their lives in Maharashtra out of which around 11,000 mishaps were caused due to human error.

Notable fines

Various cases of hefty fines being imposed on those not following traffic rules have emerged since the new traffic rules were implemented. In Delhi alone, 3,900 challans have been issued after the new Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill was passed. In Gurugram, a bike rider, Dinesh Madan was issued Rs. 23,000 challan for not wearing a helmet and riding his bike without its registration papers. A rickshaw driver in Bhubaneshwar was also issued Rs. 47,500 Challan for breaking various traffic rules. The rickshaw driver was charged on various grounds including drunken driving, driving without a valid driver's license, and allowing an unauthorised person to drive the vehicle.

READ | Bhubaneswar auto-driver gets 47,500 challan after Gurugram's 23,000