Proposed penalty and Jail Terms for Traffic Rule Violation under RTS Bill 2015 Increase in the penalty in the proposed Road Transport & Safety Bill

       The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has proposed a draft Road Transport & Safety Bill which after wide public consultation has been circulated to the concerned Ministries for their comments before bringing it to the Cabinet. The Bill has included several reforms, including a major focus on the safety on roads and increase in the penalties for various offences. Based on the inputs received from the general public as well as other stakeholders, the penalties proposed in the first draft were rationalized. Even so, the penalties now proposed in the fourth draft reflect a substantial increase in the quantum of penalties, as indicated in the comparative table attached.

    The quantum of punishment is way above that provided in the present Motor Vehicle Act, 1988.The penalties are not only in form of graded pecuniary fines but also imprisonment, naming and shaming, community service etc. The quantum of penalties proposed will be higher for the repeat offences. There would be demerit points for the offences leading to suspension of the license. The Ministry proposes that the schedule stating the quantum of punishment may be changed on analysis of the data related to reasons of offences.

Section under which offence is punishable	Existing fines As per MV Act, 1988 (Minimum)	Existing fines As per MV Act, 1988 (Maximum)	Proposed fine as per RTS Bill 2015 (Minimum)	Proposed fine as per RTS Bill 2015 (Maximum)
(1)	(2)	(3)	(6)	(7)
177 General provision of punishment of offences
First offence		Upto Rs. 100/-	Rs. 2500	Same
Subsequent offence		Upto Rs. 300/-	Rs. 5000
180 Allowing un-authorised persons to drive vehicles		Upto 3 months imprisonment or fine upto Rs. 1000/- or with both	2, 3-wheelers Rs.1000 fine and/or Imprisonment for 1 month	MMV and HMV Rs. 5000 and/or Imprisonment for 2 months.
181. Driving vehicles in contravention of section 3 or section 4		Upto 3 months imprisonment or fine upto Rs. 500/- or with both	2, 3-wheelers 1st offence – Rs.1000 fine and/or Imprisonment for 1 month Repeat – Rs. 2500 and/ or 2 months imprisonment. Also community service of 15 hours.	MMV and HMV 1st Offence – Rs. 5000 and/or Imprisonment for 2 months. Repeat – Rs. 15000 and/ or 2 months’ imprisonment. Also community service of 15 hours.
183 (1) Driving at excessive speed		First offence Upto Rs. 400/- Subsequent Upto Rs. 1000/-	Motor Cycles and 2- wheelers Names of all offenders shall be published in newspapers · Speeding by more than 5 kmph but less than 9 kmph- Fine of Rs. 1000 · Speeding by more than 9 kmph but less than 19 kmph- Fine of Rs. 1500 · Speeding by more than 19 kmph- Fine of Rs. 2000 and/or impounding of the vehicle for a month and/or suspension of license for a month and/ or Refresher Training Subsequent - Fine of Rs. 3,000 and/or impounding of the vehicle for 3 months and/or suspension of license for 3 months and/ or Refresher Training	MMV and HMV Names of all offenders shall be published in newspapers · Speeding by more than 5 kmph but less than 9 kmph- Fine of Rs. 1000 · Speeding by more than 9 kmph but less than 19 kmph- Fine of Rs. 1500 · Speeding by more than 19 kmph- Fine of Rs. 2000 and/or impounding of the vehicle for 1 month and/or cancellation of licence for one year; Suspension of permit for six months and/ or Refresher Training Subsequent - Fine of Rs. 5,000 and/or impounding of the vehicle for 3 months and/or license suspension for 3 months and/or refresher training
183 (2) To make an employee to drive at excessive speed		First offence Upto Rs. 300/- Subsequent Upto Rs. 500/-	2-wheeler and 3-wheeler Punishment same as above but duration of impounding of vehicle shall be twice as long	HMV and MMV Punishment same as above but duration of impounding of vehicle shall be twice as long
183 A First offence Subsequent offence	New Provision		1st Offence Rs. 500 2nd Offence Rs. 1,000 and 1 month licence suspension Subsequent Offence – Rs. 1,500 and 1 month licence suspension and Refresher Training
184. Driving dangerously First offence Subsequent offence		Upto 6 months imprisonment or fine upto Rs. 1000/- Upto 2 years imprisonment or fine upto Rs. 2000/- or both	Dangerous Lane Changing Dangerous passing or overtaking 1st Offence – Rs. 2500 and/or 15 hours community service and/or three days imprisonment Subsequent – Rs. 5000 and/or 30 hours community service and/or 1 week imprisonment and/or refresher training
185. Drunken Driving or driving under influence of narcotic substance			General Drivers	Drivers of HMVs, Educational Institution Buses, Vehicles carrying Hazardous Goods etc.
A) Drunken driving First offence Subsequent offence (within 3 years)		Detects presence of alcohol in blood exceeding 30mg. in 100 ml. Upto 6 months imprisonment or fine upto Rs. 2000/- or with both Upto 2 years imprisonment or fine upto Rs. 3000/- or with both	(Same punishment levied on all BAC > 20.0 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood) 1st Offence – Rs. 5000 and/or 50 hours community service and/or 6 months licence suspension. Subsequent –Rs. 10,000 + Suspension of Licence for one year	(Same punishment levied on all BAC > 20.0 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood) 1st Offence – Rs. 10,000 and/or 6 months licence suspension Subsequent –Rs. 20,000+ 1-6 months imprisonment + 1 year licence suspension
B) Driving under influence of narcotic substance: First offence B) Subsequent offence		Upto 6 months imprisonment or fine upto Rs. 2000/- or with both Subsequent Upto 2 years imprisonment or fine upto Rs. 3000/- or with both	1st Offence – Rs. 10,000 and/or 6 months licence suspension Subsequent – Rs. 20,000 and/or 6-12 months imprisonment and/or 30 days impounding, 12 months licence suspension	Fines for LMVs, MMVs and HMVs are the same
186. Driving when mentally or physically unfit: First offence Subsequent offence		Upto Rs. 200/- Upto Rs. 500/-	Rs. 5,000 (No provision for subsequent offence)	Same (No provision for subsequent offence)
192. Using vehicle without registration First offence Subsequent offence	Rs. 2,000/- SubsequentRs. 5,000/- or imprisonment upto one year or both	Upto Rs. 5,000/- Subsequent Rs. 10,000/- or imprisonment upto one year or both	2, 3-wheeler 1st Offence – Rs. 1,500 and 1 month impounding Subsequent– Rs. 3,000 and 2 months impounding	MMV and HMV 1st Offence – Rs. 5,000 and 2 months impounding Subsequent – Rs. 10,000 and 4 month impounding
192A. Using vehicle without permit First offence Subsequent offence	Rs. 2,000/- Subsequent-Rs. 5,000/- or imprisonment of not less than three months or both	Rs. 5,000/- Subsequent Rs. 10,000/- or imprisonment upto one year or both	2, 3-wheeler 1st Offence – Rs. 1,500 Subsequent – Rs. 3,000 and 1 months impounding	MMV and HMV 1st Offence – Rs. 5,000 Subsequent – Rs. 10,000 and 1 month impounding
198. Unauthorized interference with vehicle (* In case the tampering involves emission control device fitted by the manufacturer.)	Upto Rs. 100/-		1st Offence — Rs. 5,000 and/or 3 months imprisonment Subsequent – Rs. 10,000 and 3 months imprisonment	Same

 Note:

1. The draft Road Transport and Safety Bill, in addition to fines and imprisonment used by the MV Act, 1988, also use other mechanism of enforcement such as –

a. Community Service

b. Impounding (or immobilization) of Vehicles for a specified period

c. Suspension or cancellation of licences

d. Compulsory refresher training

e. Award of penalty points, accumulation of which above a certain limit in a specified time period leads to loss of driving privileges or impounding or immobilisation of the vehicle

2. The penalties are provided in Schedules II, III and V. Section 334, read with Section 14 of the draft RTS Bill delegates to the National Authority to amend these schedules and hence the penalties for each offence.

3. Section 337 of the draft RTS Bill also confer authority on the Central Government to amend the schedules through a notification from time to time.

4. Thus the penalties specified in the draft Bill can be amended from time to time by the Central Government or the National Authority to ensure that they have a punitive as well as deterrent effect.