Lets know the law (Motor Vehicles Act)

[cnu]

Though we face lot of issues with the cops, do we really know what the law states ? I could not find a thread on various rules of the Motor Vehicles Act. Thought this should be a useful piece of gyan. A bit loooooong though.

Some of the important provisions of Indian Motor Vehicles Act which the general public must know are given below:

Section 3: It is an offence to drive a vehicle without Driving Licence.

Section 4: Age limit for obtaining driving licence -
Two Wheelers below 50 CC -16 years
Other Motor Vehicles - 18 years
Transport Vehicle - 20 years

Section 5: Owner not to allow any person to drive the vehicle without Driving Licence ( D.L ). Example - If son/daughter is driving a vehicle owned by parent without D.L, parent can be prosecuted, though the parent may not be present at the time of the offence.

Section 19: The Regional Transport Officer (RTO) can disqualify persons from holding driving licence or revoke the same if the person
- is a habitual criminal or habitual drunkard
- is a habitual addict to any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance within the meaning of the Narcotic Drugsand Psychotropic Substance Act, 1985 (61 of 1985)
- is using or has used a motor vehicle in the commission of a cognizable offence
- has by his previous conduct as driver of a motor vehicle shown that his driving is likely to be attended with danger to the public
- has committed any such act which is likely to cause nuisance or danger to the public.

Section 20: On conviction of an offence under Motor Vehicles Act or an offence in the commission of which a motor vehicle was used, the Court can disqualify the person concerned from holding driving licence apart from imposing any other punishment.

For the following offences, disqualification is mandatory -

i) not stopping the vehicle when required to do so by any Police Officer not below the rank of Police Sub-Inspector in uniform if the vehicle is involved in a road accident (Section 132)

ii) not shifting the victim of the accident in which his or her vehicle is involved to the nearest Hospital/ Medical Practitioner (Section 134)

iii) not giving, on demand by a Police Officer, any information required by him (Section 134)

iv) not reporting the occurrence of accident to insurer (Section 134)

v) driving by a drunken person or by a person under the influence of drugs (Section 185)

vi) driving dangerously (Section 184)

vii) racing and trials of speed (Section 189)

viii) using vehicle without registration (Section 192)

Section 21: If a person already convicted once for dangerous driving under Section 184, again indulges in dangerous driving causing death or grievous hurt and if a case is registered for the second offence, the driving licence of the person is automatically suspended for a maximum period of 6 months or till disposal of the case in the Court.

Section 22:
i) If a person is convicted for second time for dangerous driving under Section 184, the Court can cancel the driving licence

ii) If a person is convicted for the second time for drunken driving under Section 185, the Court shall cancel the driving licence of the person concerned

Section 39: No person shall drive any motor vehicle and no owner shall cause or permit any vehicle to be driven without proper registration and display of the registration mark. If a vehicle is plying without proper registration, owner can be prosecuted though he/she may not be present at the time of offence.

Section 49: The change of address recorded in the Registration Certificate shall be reported within 30 days of any such change.

Section 50: Transfer of ownership should be reported within 14 days of the transfer if the vehicle is sold within the State and 45 days if the vehicle is sold outside the State.

Section 51: Ownership of a motor vehicle held under the hire purchase or lease or hypothecation agreement cannot be transferred without a written consent of the person to whom the vehicle is hypothecated.

Section 52: No owner of a vehicle shall so alter the vehicle that the particulars contained in the Certificate of Registration are no longer accurate. Such alteration can be made only with notice and prior approval of the Regional Transport Officer.

Section 53: If a vehicle is not in a fit condition to be used on the public road or is being used for hire without valid permit, the registration certificate can be suspended by the Regional Transport Officer.

Section 115: In the interest of public safety or convenience or because of the nature of any road or bridge, movement of certain types of vehicles can be restricted or prohibited. If the period of restriction is less than one month, no notification is necessary.

Section 119: Every driver shall drive the vehicle in conformity with the traffic sign boards and shall comply with all the directions given to him by any Police Officer for the time being engaged in the regulation of traffic.

Section 121: Signaling by the driver regarding his intentions to stop or take a left or right turn is mandatory. If he does not do so, the driver can be prosecuted.

Section 122: Leaving a vehicle at rest on any public place in such a way as to cause or likely to cause danger, obstruction or undue inconvenience to other road users is an offence. Such vehicles can be towed away by Police and charged for towing as well as this offence.

Section 127:
i) If a vehicle is left unattended on a public place for more than 10 hours or found parked in a No Parking Zone, it can be ordered to be towed away by a jurisdictional Police Officer in uniform

ii) If a vehicle is parked unattended in such a manner as to create a traffic hazard, it can be immediately removed by towing as ordered by any jurisdictional Police Officer

iii) The charges of towing away have to be paid by the owner besides any other penalty

Section 128: Carrying more than one pillion rider on a two-wheeler is an offence.

Section 129: It is mandatory to wear a helmet of ISI standard while riding a motor cycle in public place. However, the State Government can make rules as it may think fit. There are decided cases in the Courts that any act aimed at doing good is not violative of any fundamental right.

Section 130: The driver of a motor vehicle in any public place shall, on demand by any Police Officer in uniform, produce his Driving Licence, Registration Certificate, Insurance Certificate, Fitness Certificate and the Permit can be demanded in this manner by Officers of Motor Vehicles Department only.

Section 133: It is the duty of the owner of a Motor Vehicle which is involved in any offence to give all information regarding the name and address of and the licence held by the driver or the conductor on demand by any Police Officer.

Section 136: All vehicles involved in road accidents have to be inspected by the authorised Officers of Motor Vehicles Department.

Section 140: Where death or permanent disablement of any person has resulted from a road accident, the owner of the vehicle involved shall be liable to pay compensation in respect of such death or disablement irrespective of his/her fault. The compensation for death shall be Rs. 50,000/- and for permanent disablement Rs. 25,000/-.

In such claims, the claimant shall not be required to plead and establish that the death or permanent disablement was due to any wrongful act, neglect or default of the owner of the vehicle involved. The claim shall not be defeated by reason of any wrongful act, neglect or default of the person in respect of whose death or permanent disablement, the claim has been made. Besides the owner of the vehicle, the Insurance Company is also liable under this section.

Section 146: No vehicle shall be used on the road without proper Insurance Certificate. The responsibility lies with the owner of the vehicle.

Section 158: Any person driving a motor vehicle in any public place, shall, on being required by a Police Officer in uniform, produce:
1. certificate of Insurance
2. certificate of registration
3. driving licence
4. in case of transport vehicles, also the certificate of fitness and the permit

Section 160: For the purpose of claiming compensation in a road accident, information regarding the vehicle involved, the driver, injured, property damaged can be obtained from the Police Officer incharge of the concerned Police Station on payment of the prescribed fee.

Section 161: In respect of death of any person resulting from a hit and run road accident, a compensation of Rs. 25,000/- is paid. In respect of grievous hurt, the compensation to be paid is Rs. 12,500/-. This compensation is to be paid by the District Magistrate concerned.

Section 179: Disobedience to orders of the competent authority, obstruction to discharge of official duty or refusal of information to the authority concerned can result in fine upto Rs. 500/-.

Section 180: If a owner permits any unauthorised person to drive the vehicle without driving licence, the owner is liable for imprisonment upto 3 months or fine upto Rs. 1,000/- or both.

Section 181: Driving without valid and proper driving licence can result in imprisonment upto 3 months or fine upto Rs. 500/- or both

Section 182: If a person who has been disqualified for holding or obtaining a driving licence either drives a motor vehicle or applies for or obtains a driving licence with-holding the information regarding disqualification, the person can be imprisoned upto 3 months or punished with fine upto Rs. 500/- or with both.

Section 182(a): Whoever alters the construction of the vehicle without prior approval of the competent authority shall be punishable with fine of Rs. 1,000/- for the first offence and with a fine of Rs. 5,000/- for any subsequent offence.

Section 183:
i) If a driver of a motor vehicle contravenes the speed limit, he/she shall be punishable with fine upto Rs. 400/- for the first offence and Rs. 500/- for the subsequent offence.

ii) If the owner causes the driver to contravene the speed limit, he/she shall be punishable with fine upto Rs. 300/- for the first offence and Rs. 500/- for subsequent offence.

Section 184: Whoever drives a motor vehicle at a speed or in a manner which is dangerous to the public, having regard to all the circumstances of the case including nature, condition and use of the place where the vehicle is driven and the amount of traffic which actually is at the time or which might reasonably be expected to be in the place, shall be punishable for the first offence with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, and for any second or subsequent offence if committed within three years of the commission of a previous similar offence with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees or with both. The driver can be arrested on the spot.

Section 185: Punishment for drunken driving is imprisonment upto 2 years or fine upto Rs. 3,000/- or both. The driver can be arrested on the spot.

Section 186: If a person drives a vehicle when mentally or physically unfit to drive, he/she shall be punishable for the first offence with fine upto Rs. 200/- and Rs. 500/- for subsequent offence.

Section 187: If a driver or a owner fails to report involvement of his/her vehicle in an accident and give the required information to the Police Officer concerned, he/she shall be punishable with imprisonment upto 3 months or fine upto Rs. 500/- or both in addition to the punishment for the accident, in case convicted. For the subsequent offence under this section, the imprisonment can be upto 6 months and fine amount upto Rs. 1,000/-

Section 188: Whoever abets the commission of offence under Section 184, 185 and 186 shall be punishable for the same punishment as the accused himself / herself.

Section 189: Whoever without the written consent of the State Government permits or takes part in a race or trial of speed of any kind between motor vehicles in any public place shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one month or with a fine which may extend to five hundred rupees or with both.

Section 190: Punishment for violation of the standards prescribed in relation to road safety, control of noise and air pollution is fine amount upto Rs.1000/- for the first offence and Rs. 2000/- for the subsequent offence.

Section 192: Using a vehicle without registration can result in minimum fine amount of Rs. 2000/- and maximum upto Rs. 5000/-. For subsequent offence, the fine amount can be upto Rs. 10,000/- with a minimum of Rs. 5000/-

The punishment is not applicable for vehicles used in an emergency for the conveyance of persons suffering from sickness or injuries or for the transportation of food or material to relieve distress or of medical supplies for a like purpose.

Section 192(a): Using vehicle in contravention of permit condition can result in fine upto Rs. 5000/- but not less than Rs. 2000/- for the first offence and imprisonment upto 1 year but not less than 3 months or with fine amount upto Rs. 10,000/- but not less than Rs. 5000/- or both for the subsequent offence.

Section 194: Driving vehicle exceeding permissible weight can result with a punishment of Rs. 2000/- and an additional amount of Rs. 1,000/- per tonne of excess load together with the liability to pay charges of off-loading the excess load.

Section 196: Driving uninsured vehicle can result in punishment in imprisonment upto 3 months or fine upto Rs. 1000/- or both.

Section 197: Whoever takes or drives away any motor vehicle without having either the consent of the owner thereof or other lawful authority shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to three months or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees or with both.

Section 200: The offence under the following sections can be compounded by the Police Officers:
Sections 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184, 186, 189, 190, 191, 192, 194, 196 or 198.

Section 201: Whoever keeps a disabled vehicle on any public place in such a manner so as to cause impediment to the free flow of traffic, shall be liable for penalty upto to fifty rupees per hour so long as it remains in that position.

Section 202:
i) A Police Officer in uniform may arrest without warrant any person who in his presence commits an offence punishable under Section 184 (dangerous driving) or Section 185 (drunken driving) or Section 197 (taking vehicle without authority).

ii) A Police Officer in uniform may arrest without warrant any person who has committed an offence under this Act, if such person refuses to give his name and address.

Section 203: If a person required by a Police Officer to provide a specimen of breath for a breath test, refuses or fails to do so and the Police Officer has reasonable cause to suspect him of having alcohol in his blood, the Police Officer may arrest him without warrant except while he is at a hospital as an indoor patient.

Section 206:
1) Any Police Officer or other person authorised in this behalf by the State Government may if he has reason to believe that any identification mark carried on a motor vehicle or any licence, permit, certificate of registration, certificate of insurance or other document produced to him by the driver or person in charge of a motor vehicle is a false document within the meaning of Section 464 of the Indian Penal Code, seize the mark or document and call upon the driver or owner of the vehicle to account for his possession of or the presence in the vehicle of such mark or document.

2) Any Police Officer or other person authorised in this behalf by the State Government may, if he has reason to believe that the driver of a motor vehicle who is charged with any offence under this Act may abscond or otherwise avoid the service of a summons, seize any licence held by such driver and forward it to the Court.

3) A Police Officer or other person seizing a licence under sub-section (2) shall give to the person surrendering the licence a temporary acknowledgement therefore and such acknowledgement shall authorise the holder to drive until the licence has been returned to him or until such date as may be specified by the Police Officer or other person in the acknowledgement, whichever is earlier.

Section 207: Any Police Officer or other person authorised in this behalf by the State Government may, if he has reason to believe that a motor vehicle has been or is being used in contravention of the provisions of Section 3 or Section 4 or Section 39 or without the permit required by sub-section (1) of Section 66 or in contravention of any condition of such permit relating to the route on which or the area in which or the purpose for which the vehicle may be used, seize and detain the vehicle, in the prescribed manner and for this purpose, take or cause to be taken any steps he may consider proper for the temporary safe custody of the vehicle.

Source: http://bcp.gov.in/trafficpolice/traf...rovisions.html
Official web site of the Transport Dept: http://morth.nic.in/mvact.htm
Motor Vehicles Act 1988: http://morth.nic.in/mvleind.htm
Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989: http://morth.nic.in/cmvr.htm

Cheers
cnu

[veyron1]

nice one, cnu- great compilation...

mods (& admin)- i suggest a sticky for this thread- very useful for all bhpians, newbies or seniors...

p.s- sections 189 and 190 are particularly resourceful...

[k_ajay]

Aweaomw piece of work, cnu..... Great job!!!

This thread definitely deserves a sticky status....!!

[turbo_c]

Section 121: Signaling by the driver regarding his intentions to stop or take a left or right turn is mandatory. If he does not do so, the driver can be prosecuted.


I assume that the "Brake" lights and "Turn" signals are sufficient signals by the driver. Does this section also mean that the vehicle owners should ensure that all their lights / indicators are working? (I'm thinking about the trucks without tail lights on all major highways!)

Section 140: Where death or permanent disablement of any person has resulted from a road accident, the owner of the vehicle involved shall be liable to pay compensation in respect of such death or disablement irrespective of his/her fault. The compensation for death shall be Rs. 50,000/- and for permanent disablement Rs. 25,000/-.

In such claims, the claimant shall not be required to plead and establish that the death or permanent disablement was due to any wrongful act, neglect or default of the owner of the vehicle involved. The claim shall not be defeated by reason of any wrongful act, neglect or default of the person in respect of whose death or permanent disablement, the claim has been made. Besides the owner of the vehicle, the Insurance Company is also liable under this section.


This is really scary! If some jackass decides to walk in front of my car while showing the "magic hand" (the signal to stop) while I'm on a fast busy road, I end up compensating HIM / HER for it???

Section 182(a): Whoever alters the construction of the vehicle without prior approval of the competent authority shall be punishable with fine of Rs. 1,000/- for the first offence and with a fine of Rs. 5,000/- for any subsequent offence.


This can be misused by the cops to extort money... who defines what "altering the construction" means? If I upsize my tyres, add in a spoiler etc. etc. at what point would it be deemed that I have "altered the construction"?

Section 190: Punishment for violation of the standards prescribed in relation to road safety, control of noise and air pollution is fine amount upto Rs.1000/- for the first offence and Rs. 2000/- for the subsequent offence.


Spot PUC checks, I can understand, but what are the other standards? Do the cops have equipment to check and specifications to decide whether a given vehicle is "loud"?

A general opinion I have about the fines: They are ridiculously low!

Not that I'm loaded or anything such... but many of the fines for even serious offenses are cheaper than a tank of gas! What's the use of having such fines, they are not a deterrent at all ! ... and the "compensation" amounts are even worse! These may have been ok in 1970, but with the value of the rupee falling (and salarys rising), they are too low in the present times.

I think that the fines are quite useless... the offender should be forced to do "community service" instead. This would work as a deterrant especially well in India, where the high and mighty would not be caught dead doing "low" jobs like cleaning up their own paan stains or picking up the garbage they have thrown out their million$$$ rides.

- T u r b o C -

[X-Machine]

Awesome info pal.Thanks for the contribution.

X

[highpriest]

Well, I was stopped a couple of days ago by a cop near BKC for having an 'illegal' license plate. The license plates on my Swift has a small but prominent Suzuki "S" logo on the left hand side. The cop claimed that having any kind of logo on the license plate is illegal.

Maruti gave me the car with the logo on the plate. Point is, how does an end user know what is allowed and what is not? Or are the cops inventing new rules just to make some easy extra bucks [I had to pay the cop 100 rupees to get out of this one, unofficial, of course]?

I asked him this. He told me to go to the nearest chowki and ask his senior about all the traffic rules. Huh? Is there a better way?

- Harish

[jkdas]

ehem... does audio at high vol a problem?

[revtech]

Originally Posted by jkdas

ehem... does audio at high vol a problem?

i dont think its aloud i have personally never been pulled over by a cop for loud music but then again my system isnt that great to be played really loud . but i have heard of cops stopping people becasue of loud music.


rev

[Rtech]

Great post CNU. This is sure to be a help to all of us.

And it also becomes a Sticky.

[cnu]

Originally Posted by turbo_c

I assume that the "Brake" lights and "Turn" signals are sufficient signals by the driver. Does this section also mean that the vehicle owners should ensure that all their lights / indicators are working? (I'm thinking about the trucks without tail lights on all major highways!)

Yes. It is the responsibility of the owners to ensure that all lights/indicators are working properly. But in our country, who cares ?

Originally Posted by turbo_c

This is really scary! If some jackass decides to walk in front of my car while showing the "magic hand" (the signal to stop) while I'm on a fast busy road, I end up compensating HIM / HER for it???

In India too (as in US) pedestrians have the right of way means we need to stop if we see anyone crossing the road. But again with the kind of population and the state of the roads who cares ?

Originally Posted by turbo_c

This can be misused by the cops to extort money... who defines what "altering the construction" means? If I upsize my tyres, add in a spoiler etc. etc. at what point would it be deemed that I have "altered the construction"?

If you look at various sections of MVA, many of them are not clearly defined and can be interpreted in more than one way. The law itself needs an overhaul.

Originally Posted by turbo_c

Spot PUC checks, I can understand, but what are the other standards? Do the cops have equipment to check and specifications to decide whether a given vehicle is "loud"?

No. Apparently our politicians and bureaucrats doesn't leave any corpus for traffic dept..sad..

Originally Posted by turbo_c

A general opinion I have about the fines: They are ridiculously low!

True. With todays scenario of rapid development, the MVA itself needs frequent updates (may be atleast once in 5 years if not more)... The MVA was last updated during 1988-89 timeframe.

Originally Posted by jkdas

ehem... does audio at high vol a problem?

Yes. The vol should be low such that it do not cause distraction of other drivers on the road. But again there are no numbers defined in the law.

[cnu]

Here's some additional information.

The RTO office enforces the law on Indian roads, and the law that governs the Indian roads is the Motor Vehicles Act (MVA) and the Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR). Knowing the MVA and the CMVR can help you understand your rights and liabilities as a driver in India.

The Motor Vehicles Act (MVA) 1914 / 1939 and 1988 - The law for operation for all motor vehicles in India.
The Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR) 1994 - Rules that stipulate various procedures with reference to the MVA 1988
The State Motor Vehicles Rules - Rules framed by various state governments in accordance with the MVA and CMVR to suit local conditions of the state.

Some of the important rules of CMVR that we must know:

Car Registration Mark (Rule 50,51 CMV Rules)
The registration number displayed must confirm to following specifications:
Letters: 4.5 cm high / 1 cm thick
Numerals: 6 cm high / 1 cm thick
Space between letters / numerals should not be less than 1 cm.

The colour scheme for Non-Transport vehicles (Section 118 MVAct):
Permanent Registration - White on Black Plate.
Temporary Number - Red on Yellow Plate.
Fancy lettering, raised or shining metal numbers are not permitted. The plate should not have any line, or colour, or any other kind of marking on it.

Lamps and additional lights (Rules 105-108,111 CMV Rules)
* Spotlights, search lights, fancy lights, mercury lamps are expressly forbidden.
* Dome lights are not permitted unless specially authorised.
* A reversing white light is permitted provided the light is diffused and not too bright.

Rear View Mirror (Rule 125 CMV Rules)
Every motor vehicle, except motor cycles, must be fitted with a rear view mirror in such a way that the driver has a clear vision of the traffic behind.

Horns (Rule 119 CMV Rules)
No vehicle is allowed to be fitted with any multitone horn. Horns producing musical notes, unduly harsh, loud, shrill or alarming noises fall in this category.

Tinted Glasses (Rule 100 CMV Rules)
Tinted glasses or sun control films should not be so dark as to obscure clear vision.
Any material that reflects light is also not permitted. Use of curtains that obscure clear vision is prohibited.

TV / Video / Music (Rule 162 MMV Rules)
No TV / Video display should be placed in a vehicle in a manner that it may distract the driver. The music played in the vehicle must be kept at low levels of sound so as not to distract other drivers on the road.

Source: http://www.cybersteering.com/tgmain/tgt/law.html

[PrabirTalati]

Thanks, cnu. This was really useful

Prabir

[jkdas]

now this is a sticky, thats gr8. and mate nice job with teh updates

[EVO6]

Excellent Info...
Everyone shud take a print out and keep in every vehicle just incase the cops harrase you ...
Cheers

[Rishi]

Originally Posted by cnu

. Use of curtains that obscure clear vision is prohibited.

Most of the govt vehicles have curtains on thier windows.