Centre proposes New Motor Vehicle Bill to control Road Accidents

Central Government of India plans to establish national authority, Motor Vehicle Regulation and Road Safety Authority of India for road safety and regulation of motor vehicles which will be given powers to recall motor vehicles if any deviation is observed from norms.

This will have four to eight members and works as an independent agency.

The New Motor Vehicle Bill proposed by the Centre on Saturday intended to control road mishaps.

 

It has been drafted in sync with the best practices of six advanced countries — the US, the UK, Canada, Singapore, Japan and Germany.

As per this Bill, traffic offenders will be penalised up to Rs 3 lakh, along with imprisonment of at least seven years for death of a child in certain circumstances.

The vehicles with faulty manufacturing design will be penalisedup to Rs5 lakhalong with imprisonment.

Rash and careless drivers will get their licences cancelled.

If any vehicle is found to be using in unsafe conditions, it will attract a penalty of up to Rs. 1 lakh or imprisonment for six months which may extend to one year, or both.

 

The drunken drivers will be fined with Rs. 25,000, or imprisonment of not more than 3 months, or both in their first offence.

Their license will be suspended for six months.

However, if they commit their second offence within 3 years they will have to pay Rs. 50,000 fine.

The imprisonment would be for up to one year or both in some cases, license will be suspended for one year.

The subsequent offence will result in the cancellation of the licence and impounding of the vehicle which might be prolonged for 30 days.

 

In case of school bus drivers’ drunken driving offence, Rs. 50,000 fine will be penalized along with imprisonment of three years. If these drivers are found to be in the age group of 18 to 25 years, their licenses will be cancelled immediately.

In case of a death of child due to this,Rs. 3 lakh will be fined and an imprisonment of a minimum of 7 years will be charged.

Those who violate traffic signals for three times will be imposed withRs. 15,000 fine along with cancellation of license for a month.

Furthermore, they will have to undergo a refresher training which is mandatory. The Central Government is expected to introduce the Bill in the Winter Session of Parliament.