[lapis_lazuli]

Evidence based enforcement should have been a part of the bill as well. Honestly, the meagre pay theory doesn't work any more. With multiple pay commissions this is just not true. Have you ever heard of Police unions on a pay hike agenda? Published instances/anecdotes?

I am worried about entrapment now, more than inaction. With 30-50% of the fine being the "negotiation" amount, its field day, every day. Previously, head constable was allowed to fine till 100. Beyond that, an ASI or higher is required. Now the most common violations are pegged at 1000 : the seat belt and helmet. These were entirely under the Head Constables' power. Often, he let things pass by, because haggling for 100 meant loss of time. Now it is 1000!

[NaveenKBorra]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Buddy don't jump the gun. First we do not have the luxury of vacant prisons. The ones we have are already running beyond their capacity. Second you want to tell me you have never broken a traffic law like parking in wrong spot, taking a wrong turn, speeding over prescribed speed limit and so on. So you want to land up in Jail next time you do any of those, even by mistake.

Got your point bud, I am not telling that I have not broken a traffic law before, What I am saying is the punishment should be in such a way that people does not repeat the offense. Increasing the fines is definitely not the option.

[farooq817]

Right now, I'm not sure if this is a good move or a bad one to increase the fines. But I believe they need to be more stringent on the rules based on which the fines will be levied. This struck me today morning while I was coming to office. There are fines for helmet-less driving, drunk driving etc. But are there any fines for not using the view mirrors fixed by the manufacturer? It happens almost every other day that I need to honk for someone who is riding/driving in the middle of the road at a snail's pace without using the wing mirrors only because they were probably listening to the music on their phones/in the cars.
Why cant there be a rule that the person who does not use wing mirrors is fined?

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by NaveenKBorra

Got your point bud, I am not telling that I have not broken a traffic law before, What I am saying is the punishment should be in such a way that people does not repeat the offense. Increasing the fines is definitely not the option.

Honestly if you have to pay 2000 bucks or more for just no parking, you would rather park in the designated parking spots that would cost you only 20-30 Rs per hour. Same goes for other rules too. not wearing helmets? There is a challan for 2000. It will cause heartburn the first time, an ulcer the second time and possible perforation and death the third time. Fine an amount that hurts and the person won't repeat the offence. At least the majority won't.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by NaveenKBorra

Got your point bud, I am not telling that I have not broken a traffic law before, What I am saying is the punishment should be in such a way that people does not repeat the offense. Increasing the fines is definitely not the option.

What other way? Do you want them to get down and do 100 sit-ups holding their ears? Or write an assignment of 1000 times repeating "I will not break the traffic law"? Or ask them to head to the nearest temple/etc and break a thousand coconuts?

Jokes apart, the main deterrent for breaking traffic laws is the high fine and/or jail time all over the world. Breaking a traffic law here in US potentially means hundreds of dollars and it's the same in Europe or Asia. On the road our traffic density is catching up to the world, it's about time the fines start getting to that level.

And this is just the start. It's going to be a bumpy ride. Yes, the bribes are going to get higher. And there are many gaps. We need better rules such as lane management and having better traffic sense on the road during jams and heavy traffic.

But for now, just the aspect that one might potentially have to pay thousands hopefully should make one pay more attention to the road.

[jkdas]

Looks like a good move. Copying the highlights from -http://www.prsindia.org/billtrack/the-motor-vehicles-amendment-bill-2016-4366/

1) Recall of vehicles: The Bill allows the central government to order for recall of motor vehicles if a defect in the vehicle may cause damage to the environment, or the driver, or other road users.

2) Care for road accident victims: The central government will develop a scheme for cashless treatment of road accident victims during golden hour. The Bill defines golden hour as the time period of up to an hour following a traumatic injury, during which the likelihood of preventing death through prompt medical care is the highest. The Bill also increases the compensation for death in a hit and run case from Rs 25,000 to Rs two lakh or more, as prescribed by the central government.

3)Offences and penalties: The Bill increases the 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 motor vehicle manufacturer fails to comply with construction or maintenance standards of motor vehicles, the penalty may be a fine of up to Rs 100 crore, or imprisonment up to one year, or both // VW etc..wake up

4) The Bill also recognizes offences committed by juveniles. In such cases the guardian of the juvenile or owner of the motor vehicle will be liable unless they prove that: (i) the offence was committed without their knowledge, or (ii) they exercised all due diligence to prevent commission of the offence.

[balajisv]

Originally Posted by lapis_lazuli

Often, he let things pass by, because haggling for 100 meant loss of time. Now it is 1000!

Even then, a person has to shell out more than 100 to bribe the cop and that alone will start to deter the motorists.
If a small wrong happens in ensuring a bigger good, be it so!

[anachronix]

^^ The problem, if you have all the necessary documents the Cop usually has this rash/negligent driving case to flag and you end up coughing out a lot more than usual.

The enforcement should be evidence based, if not I only see the cops cashing in more on these new escalated fines.

[RavenAvi]

Now, get ready to pay a hefty fine if you have modified/altered your vehicle to make more noise than the prescribed noise limits.

This particular proposal is being considered to be added as an amendment to the Motor Vehicles Act. Alterations which are made to vehicles specifically for making excessive noise and attracting attention towards them also add to noise pollution and pose serious risks towards safety measures.

For India, the prescribed noise limit is 74-80 decibels (dB) for most vehicles, which covers noise emitted from the tyres, the interaction of tyres with the road surface, structural noise and maintenance of vehicles by the owners. This noise limit is similar to European regulations.

But Indian vehicles make far more noise because of the sheer density of vehicles on road, the surface of the roads (often ill maintained), overloading of vehicles and illegal modifications, among other things.

Rashmi Urdhwareshe, Director, Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI):

"Any changes to the approved design of the vehicles or other alterations are not permitted under the Central Motor Vehicle Rules.

In the proposed amendments, there is a call for heavy penalty for any vehicular alterations.

Once a vehicle is designed to emit a particular amount of sound, it is the user's responsibility to not increase the noise any further.

One has to also remember that any undesirable sound is called noise is also linked with the noise quality. Even when two vehicles generate same dB values - one could be very irritating noise."

ET

[msdivy]

Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill 2016 passed in Lok Sabha

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by msdivy

Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill 2016 passed in Lok Sabha

Thank you for sharing the summary of charges to be levied in case one breaks the law.

Next big question is:

Who is going to strictly monitor these offence so that offenders do NOT escape via the bribe route?!

Implementation and monitoring plus quick judgements is what is lacking in our country. Number of laws, clauses are a plenty.

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Thank you for sharing the summary of charges to be levied in case one breaks the law.

Next big question is:

Who is going to strictly monitor these offence so that offenders do NOT escape via the bribe route?!

Implementation and monitoring plus quick judgements is what is lacking in our country. Number of laws, clauses are a plenty.

Section 210 B states that these fines are double if the offence is committed by enforcing authorities

[hserus]

Originally Posted by msdivy

Section 210 B states that these fines are double if the offence is committed by enforcing authorities

Enforcement is only going to happen with

1. Significant anti corruption sweeps in police / RTO departments nationwide, coupled with rates of pay, allowances and pension that are decent enough for them not to have any reasonable excuse like being poor and underpaid to seek petty bribes for traffic offences.

2. Enforcement using traffic cameras and automated challans so that human intervention in the process is reduced / minimized.

Without these, the end result is just going to be an increase in the going rate for "chai paani" demands.

[dass]

I think all of these sound very good on paper. The enforcement has to be top notch. Else, the only people who are going to be happy about this are the enforcers, who will probably now see a windfall in their pocket money. Instead of paying 2k for an offence, they will demand 500 and let them go. In the earlier scheme, this would have been a Rs.50 impact. We should wait and watch how they plan to have stricter enforcement norms.

[avisidhu]

Originally Posted by balajisv

Even then, a person has to shell out more than 100 to bribe the cop and that alone will start to deter the motorists.
If a small wrong happens in ensuring a bigger good, be it so!

Yes precisely. Enforcement has so many obstacles that it will take a life time to match with the sheer volume of traffic. Deterrence is the best way forward. Really glad to see provisions made for overloaded vehicles and two wheelers.

Alongside, some nation wide initiative of reporting such misdemeanors by citizens, combined with automated penalty system, could really do wonders in the short term.