Background
1. I've no hesitation to say that we, Indians are bad motorists. Once we are driving a vehicle, we lose
all sense of propriety, disregard fellow motorists astride on vehicles lighter than ours - we expect
them to give way, have no respect either for pedestrians or vehicles driven by differently abled
people and the list goes on. Let me list out a few of those irritable instances that I've come across
while driving:-
(a) Continuous blowing of the horn till he overtakes.
(b) Slowing immediately, near you, after overtaking.
(c) If running in two adjacent lanes, pushing you into a bad stretch of the road that you're
trying to avoid.
(d) Tail gating.
(e) Do not permit you to overtake.
(f) Squeezing into a queue from behind.
(g)The show of impatience at the toll gates.
(h) The lack of discipline among the two wheeler motorists.
2. It's clear that an overall sense of discipline needs to be enforced among the motorists so that
everyone drives with a free mind and ensures that he/she does not give any problem, whatsoever,
to fellow motorists. This will reduce the number of accidents that often results in senseless
deaths.
3. The new Motor Vehicle Act, effective from 01 Sep '19, is a step in the right direction.
Salient Aspects of the new Motor Vehicle Act
4. The most important feature of the new Motor Vehicle Act is that the fines for errors are pretty
steep. The underlying thought behind the decision is that motorists would maintain decent speeds
and be more considerate towards fellow motorists. Let us visit some of the new rates of fines
that will be charged in case of traffic violations:-
(a) Jumping traffic light Rs.5,000/-
(b) Using a mobile phone "
(c) Overtaking wrongly "
(d) Driving against the traffic "
(In addition you could even land up in jail).
(e) Not wearing seat belt Rs.1,000/-
(f) Speeding Rs.1,000/- to Rs.5,000/-
(g) Driving without licence Rs.5,000/-
(h) Drunken driving Rs.10,000/-
(j) Not wearing seat belt Rs.1,000/-
(k) Helmetless riding Rs.1,000/- , licence disqualification for 3 months.
5. The fear of having to shell out a lot of money will keep the motorists disciplined to obey proper
traffic rules thereby bringing down the number of accidents drastically!
6. The traffic police entrusted with the job and the MVD inspectors must possess POS machines to
help the motorists to pay through credit/debit cards as high denominations of cash might not be
on person.
The Implementation
7. Though the Motor Vehicle Act has been enacted by the union government after its ratification
in parliament, it has been left to the individual states to enforce the law with modifications if
required and the manner in which the fines are collected.
8. West Bengal was the first state to announce that it will not follow the new MV Act. Madhya
Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamilnadu and Telangana have said that they would implement
it only after educating the public.
9. Kerala was one of the states that had implemented it straightaway. But with byelections around
the corner and because most of the roads are in bad condition, the CPM has called for a rethink!
Tailpiece.
Politics being played on such an important piece of legislation. Sad! We need to bring about a drastic change in our attitudes towards driving and let us endeavour to bring down the number of accidents considerably as it's scared that it will lose votes! The state secretary of the party says that the new Act will breed massive corruption among the professionals who will enforce the law, much to their ire. Can't help but laugh!
1. I've no hesitation to say that we, Indians are bad motorists. Once we are driving a vehicle, we lose
all sense of propriety, disregard fellow motorists astride on vehicles lighter than ours - we expect
them to give way, have no respect either for pedestrians or vehicles driven by differently abled
people and the list goes on. Let me list out a few of those irritable instances that I've come across
while driving:-
(a) Continuous blowing of the horn till he overtakes.
(b) Slowing immediately, near you, after overtaking.
(c) If running in two adjacent lanes, pushing you into a bad stretch of the road that you're
trying to avoid.
(d) Tail gating.
(e) Do not permit you to overtake.
(f) Squeezing into a queue from behind.
(g)The show of impatience at the toll gates.
(h) The lack of discipline among the two wheeler motorists.
2. It's clear that an overall sense of discipline needs to be enforced among the motorists so that
everyone drives with a free mind and ensures that he/she does not give any problem, whatsoever,
to fellow motorists. This will reduce the number of accidents that often results in senseless
deaths.
3. The new Motor Vehicle Act, effective from 01 Sep '19, is a step in the right direction.
Salient Aspects of the new Motor Vehicle Act
4. The most important feature of the new Motor Vehicle Act is that the fines for errors are pretty
steep. The underlying thought behind the decision is that motorists would maintain decent speeds
and be more considerate towards fellow motorists. Let us visit some of the new rates of fines
that will be charged in case of traffic violations:-
(a) Jumping traffic light Rs.5,000/-
(b) Using a mobile phone "
(c) Overtaking wrongly "
(d) Driving against the traffic "
(In addition you could even land up in jail).
(e) Not wearing seat belt Rs.1,000/-
(f) Speeding Rs.1,000/- to Rs.5,000/-
(g) Driving without licence Rs.5,000/-
(h) Drunken driving Rs.10,000/-
(j) Not wearing seat belt Rs.1,000/-
(k) Helmetless riding Rs.1,000/- , licence disqualification for 3 months.
5. The fear of having to shell out a lot of money will keep the motorists disciplined to obey proper
traffic rules thereby bringing down the number of accidents drastically!
6. The traffic police entrusted with the job and the MVD inspectors must possess POS machines to
help the motorists to pay through credit/debit cards as high denominations of cash might not be
on person.
The Implementation
7. Though the Motor Vehicle Act has been enacted by the union government after its ratification
in parliament, it has been left to the individual states to enforce the law with modifications if
required and the manner in which the fines are collected.
8. West Bengal was the first state to announce that it will not follow the new MV Act. Madhya
Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamilnadu and Telangana have said that they would implement
it only after educating the public.
9. Kerala was one of the states that had implemented it straightaway. But with byelections around
the corner and because most of the roads are in bad condition, the CPM has called for a rethink!
Tailpiece.
Politics being played on such an important piece of legislation. Sad! We need to bring about a drastic change in our attitudes towards driving and let us endeavour to bring down the number of accidents considerably as it's scared that it will lose votes! The state secretary of the party says that the new Act will breed massive corruption among the professionals who will enforce the law, much to their ire. Can't help but laugh!
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