MV Act Amendment 2019

Motor Vehicle Act  Amendment   2019

The Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill has been passed in the Lok Sabha after a long discussion recently. The Bill was passed by a voice vote and several amendments moved by opposition members were also rejected by a voice vote. The new bill was passed to amend the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988 which was tabled in the house back in 2017, but was not cleared in the upper house (Rajya Sabha) and eventually got lapsed with the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha. The Act provides for the grant of licenses and permits related to motor vehicles, standards for motor vehicles, and penalties for violation of these provisions.

Some salient features of the act

• The victims of road accidents will be treated with free medical facility within the golden hour (the first critical hour).
• If there is a Good Samaritan who comes to the help of the accident victims, there will be no harassment of those individuals from civil or criminal proceedings and the Central government can frame rules for their protection.
• The liability cap for road accident victims under third-party insurance is being bumped up 10 times from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh. On the penalties side, the fine for driving under the influence of alcohol will be Rs 10,000 (Rs 2,000 now) and there will be similar hikes in other fine amounts too, the ultimate objective being to act as a deterrent. The penalty for hit-and-run cases is being increased eight-fold to Rs 2 lakh in case of death and Rs 50,000 in case of physical injury from Rs 25,000 and Rs 12,500 respectively.
• The government says it will have to right to ask automobile manufacturers to recall particular models of vehicles if it causes harm to the environment in any manner..
• If the licence is suspended / revoked under Section 19, the driver will have to take“driving refresher training course” for reviving the licence and traffic offences can be compounded under Section 200.
• A section has been introduced where the liability falls on the contractor or designated authority if their failure to follow the stipulated design and standards leads to death or injury.
• In case of accident caused by a juvenile, the newly proposed Section 199A imposes liability on the guardian or owner of the vehicle that is involved in the mishap.
• A newly introduced clause states that the claim petition has to be filed within six months from the date of the accident. The original Act passed in 1988 had a similar provision but it was removed as per the 1994 amendment following which a claim could have been filed at any time following the accident, without any time-limit. But the earlier provision is now being brought back.

The Bill increases penalties for several offences under the Act. For example, the maximum penalty for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs has been increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000. If a vehicle manufacturer fails to comply with motor vehicle standards, the penalty will be a fine of up to Rs 100 crore, or imprisonment of up to one year, or both. If a contractor fails to comply with road design standards, the penalty will be a fine of up to one lakh rupees. The central government may increase fines mentioned under the Act every year by up to 10%. Other fines are as follows

• Unauthorised used of vehicle without licence Rs 5000 (earlier Rs 1000)
• Driving without licence Rs 5000 (earlier Rs 500)
• Drunken Driving Rs 10,000 (earlier Rs 2000)
• Speeding/Racing Rs 5000 (earlier Rs 500)
• Over Loading Rs 1000 per passenger ( earlier nil)
• Not Providing way for emergency vehicle Rs 10,000 (new rule)
• Driving without vehicle insurance Rs 2000 (earlier Rs 1000)
• Offences by Juveniles , Guardian/owner would be deemed guilty, Rs 25,000 plus 3 months imprisonment. Juvenile to be tried under JJ act. Registration of Vehicle to be cancelled.

This bill has been passed by Lok Sabha and it is still to be passed by  Rajya Sabha, so that it can become law. The penalties/fines proposed in this act have been increased multiple times compared to earlier. No idea whether it will become deterrent for people owning/driving the vehicles or it will give rise to more corruption. In my opinion, it will be boon for corrupt officials, unless along with act there is something is done  to curb/stop the corruption then only this act will serve any purpose.

What you say my friends.

Awaiting your feed backs/views/comments.

Anil Malik

Mumbai, India

25^th July 2019