[srh]

Originally Posted by haria

Oh Boy!! This is a serious and real issue - especially near colleges/schools/etc. Most of the youngsters will have their earphones on all the time they are on the road. Really wonder what they are listening to so avidly!

I cycle to work in Bangalore and I will tell you exactly why the headphones need to be kept on - crazy honking all around. The same way that many car owners on this forum want their cars to completely insulate/ mute outside noise when windows are rolled up.

[alexpaul]

Originally Posted by srh

I cycle to work in Bangalore and I will tell you exactly why the headphones need to be kept on - crazy honking all around. The same way that many car owners on this forum want their cars to completely insulate/ mute outside noise when windows are rolled up.

Its time we need to introduce honking bill to reduce noise pollution.
However on the serious note , I do see an upward trend in car drivers using the headphones while driving . This is a serious nuisance to other drivers with respect to road safety.
Wish the bill could have implemented steeper fines to people using headphones while driving.
Not sure if this works out but I have been thinking if we can help the traffic police by sharing the snippets of video captured from dashcam while driving . The snippets could be of anyone breaking the rules on the road eg: riding without helmet, driving on wrong side etc etc. This way the police can identify the offender via vehicle number and send challans to offender's residence

[tilt]

This is an ill thought-out knee-jerk reaction. As usual laws are being introduced/amended by unqualified people with absolutely no thought or study of anything.

My responses in bold below each point in the quoted post itself:

Originally Posted by haria

*SNIP*

- The government will provide compensation of Rs 2 lakh or more to the victim's family in cases of hit-and-run fatalities. The current provision is just for Rs 25,000.

Yeah OK, but will there be any analysis as to who was at fault? Careless jaywalkers or law-breakers getting hit by someone following the law do not deserve to be rewarded (yes, rewarded) for their stupidity.

- In cases of traffic violations by juveniles, the guardian/owner of the car will be held responsible — unless they can prove that the offence was committed without their knowledge or they tried to prevent it. The juvenile will be tried under the Juvenile Justice Act. The registration of the vehicle involved will stand cancelled.

Good luck enforcing that. No parent will deny knowledge, they will protect their offspring, and many will have enough clout to reduce the charge or just make it go away. The spirit of the rule is good though.

- Minimum fine for drunk driving has been increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000. The penalty for rash driving has been hiked from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000.

Define "rash driving". Laws should be spelt in an objective manner, not a subjective manner that depends on opinion. What I consider rash may not be so for others. This section reeks of "bribe city, here I come".

- Driving without a licence will attract a minimum fine of Rs 5,000 (it's Rs 500 at present). Over-speeding will set you back by Rs 1,000-2,000 (currently Rs 400). Driving without wearing seatbelt would attract a fine of Rs 1,000 as against Rs 100 at present.

These should be supported by photographic evidence, otherwise the perpetrator should be considered innocent. I have had a case where I was fined for not wearing the seat belt when I indeed was wearing it, and the cop had merely made a note with a pen with my number, probably to fill some quota. I spoke with the inspector after receiving the ticket and was told that cops cannot lie and therefore I was indeed guilty.

And speed limits should be displayed prominently at every junction/intersection to help people joining the road at such intersections

- Talking on mobile phone while driving will attract a fine of Rs 5,000, up sharply from the current Rs 1,000.
A Motor Vehicle Accident Fund will provide compulsory insurance cover to all road users in the country for certain types of accidents.

No comment

- Vehicles whose components/engine do not meet the required standards will have to be recalled. Manufacturers can be fined up to Rs 500 crore over sub-standard components or engine.

I am not qualified to comment because I do not know whose jurisdiction this would fall under, but I think it will certainly not be the police.

- A 6-month time limit has been specified for applying for compensation to the Claims Tribunal in road accident cases.

No comment

- Aadhaar will be compulsory for getting a driving licence and vehicle registration.

Stupid, stupid. Aadhar is still a debated topic and as of right now unconstitutional. Also, people who do not have aadhar are no longer permitted to buy vehicles or drive?

- Civic agencies, contractors, consultants will be accountable for faulty design, construction or poor maintenance of roads causing accidents.

Yeah right. Good luck, with all these people being politically or otherwise connected.

- The cap on liability for third-party insurance will be removed. The 2016 Bill had put a cap on the maximum liability at Rs 10 lakh for death and Rs 5 lakh for grievous injury.

No comment

- The time limit for renewal of driving licence is increased from one month to one year before and after the expiry date.

I have no objection to the "before", but there should not be an "after". OK, let me clarify - the "after" is OK as long as the person is not permitted to drive from the moment the licence expires until it is renewed. If this amendment implies that people may drive for up to a year with an expired licence, it is not acceptable.

The amendment needs to be worded more precisely.

- There is a provision for protection of Good Samaritans — the ones who come forward to help accident victims will be protected from civil or criminal liability. It will be optional for them to disclose their identity to the police or medical personnel.

Isn't this already in place?

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by haria

See link:
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com...w/69823206.cms

- The drunk driving has been increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000. The penalty for rash driving has been hiked from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000.

Unless there is a mandatory suspension of driving license and and/or imprisonment things will not improve.

Alcohol is arguably the biggest 'killer'. So I have something like UK - endorsement for ten years, compulsory imprisonment.

[ant_vas]

I am quite surprised to see comments from members where they say government is just looking to fill its coffers by hiking the fine amounts. Laws are made to have a civilized society and if the people of the country disregards those laws and endanger other lives on the road, it ought to be dealt in the strictest of terms.

I personally believe that the traffic fines should act as deterrent. with the existing amount i have seen that there is complete disregard for the traffic rules.

I would even suggest that all traffic fines should be couriered/emailed directly to violators home and if not paid within the timeline, they should start charging interest on the fine amount.

As for the passing of this amendment bill in both houses of parliament, lower house will be fine, upper house should also approve it as last time rajyasabha asked the bill to be refereed to select committee of the parliament, which the government did and have made changes as suggested by the committee. Even transport ministers of around 16 states have supported these changes.
Karnataka government already seems to be running ahead of itself and issued gazette notification for increased fine amounts effective today in the whole of Karnataka state

[haria]

Originally Posted by srh

I cycle to work in Bangalore and I will tell you exactly why the headphones need to be kept on - crazy honking all around. The same way that many car owners on this forum want their cars to completely insulate/ mute outside noise when windows are rolled up.

While I agree about the honking situation - especially in blr - I still strongly feel that wearing headphones while walking / riding a two-wheeler (bike, cycle,etc) is highly unsafe.

In addition to blocking the annoying horns, you also miss out other audible warnings and can get badly hurt.

I have personally seen, pedestrians sporting headphones happily step-off the pavement, oblivious of the traffic coming behind and almost getting knocked down.


A car, especially in a city driving situation is a different thing all together. The worst that can happen to the driver is some scratches or dents in the car. Very rare to have serious injuries esp. in crawling traffic.

On the other hand, a two wheeler can loose balance and fall in the path of an on coming vehicle and this can lead to serious injuries. This can happen even at slow speeds.

If you must use headphones while riding (I strongly recommend against), at least don't use "in-ear" headphones. These almost completely block all surrounding sounds leaving a rider particularly vulnerable.

Ride safe!

[kumaranurag]

Rules have been there for ages. It's about how they're enforced & if people are willing to follow them or not. We're all aware of our law enforcement organization & I bet you that nothing is going to change, sadly.

[MMV]

Trust the bill also provides for single registration ie no need for NOC / re-registration when moving to other states. This will be of great convenience and reduce corruption, any state revenue issues should be tackled seperately.

[anandharamanp]

As few fellow Bhpians pointed out, increase in Fine amounts may only result in increase of Corruption levels in order to escape from the large amount of fines. There is no point in penalizing the citizens alone and totally ignoring the service providers and govt officials.

Setting those aside on a positive note and under the assumption that our roads conditions may become safer than before, How is the govt planning to improve the road infrastructure – currently following are the issues that all if us face on a daily basis:

1) Potholes in roads leading to fatalities
2) Speed brakers with no sign boards or road markings
3) It is really frustrating to see that even the freshly laid roads don’t even last for couple of weeks – various service providers of telephone, Internet and govt authorities from Drainage, Rain drain etc dig the roads and leave it broken without even patching them properly - Is there any way that they will strictly enforce and penalize those service providers for not laying the dug roads properly?
4) Construction of flyovers takes many years to complete – evey time there will be press release stating that it will be completed before end of December but it continues for span of 3- 6 years – this situation happens not only in the city but also incase of over bridges across railway lines in villages also (where there is not traffic issues)

I would have really appreciated these steps if Government had taken all these measures after them providing excellent roads and infrastructure.

[VKumar]

To each his own, going by my past experience of dealing with the cops, all I see is happier cops working overtime.

Cop: Saar, give 500 and go
Citizen: Last time it was 200
Cop: Saar, last time the challan value was also 500, now it is 2000. Be happy saar, by paying 200; you were saving 300. Now if you pay 500 - you save 1500!

[sushantr5]

Coupled with this bill, states are also improving mechanism to catch offenders and penalize them. Nowadays CCTV cameras at various points are used to find offenders. We have seen this has been implemented in Mumbai, Pune and afterwards 'One State One Challan' from Maharashtra state. Other states may have such things in place but I think MH is pretty late to the party but now it is there. This methodology will improve step by step and slowly.

Only offenses which require physical checks like drunk driving and occasional stopping by Police to check document have possibility of corruption. However the percentage of this kind of penalization will reduce once CCTV based penalization is improved.

There will be initial opposition from Aam Janta for the new approach but things will improve over the time. Aadhar linking though privacy concern will help in a big way to track down offenders.

Now Government is only 6 short of Majority in Rajyasabha, I hope this legislation will see light in few days.

[adi.mariner]

Originally Posted by haria

- Civic agencies, contractors, consultants will be accountable for faulty design, construction or poor maintenance of roads causing accidents.

I would really like to see this section is enforced properly and the guilty parties are penalized heavily. The horrible condition of the roads (pot holes, inadequate markings, missing manhole covers) has dangerous consequences. If enforced properly, the number of deaths on Indian roads would definitely reduce.

[krishsreedharan]

How about the RTOs who sit in on new drivers taking their test for their permanent license? Just riding a bike in a figure 8 and driving a few 100 meters does not qualify the student to get his license converted into a permanent one.

Secondly, in the last few months, there has been a need for me to extensively travel on the Ghats. It is rather scary the way people on the plains drive their vehicles on the hills - especially Taxi Drivers and Bikers. I for one, believe it is good for drivers who drive on the hills to have a separate test on hill driving - from what I have seen, nobody gives a hoot about the basic tenet of hill driving - Give way to vehicles going uphill.

[UB_007]

Originally Posted by adi.mariner

I would really like to see this section is enforced properly and the guilty parties are penalized heavily. The horrible condition of the roads (pot holes, inadequate markings, missing manhole covers) has dangerous consequences. If enforced properly, the number of deaths on Indian roads would definitely reduce.

I fully agree.

In addition to the infra itself, the poor maintained heavy vehicles which emit cloud of smoke, having bad tire condition, insufficient braking performance, no tail lights, no indicators must stop getting fitness certificates. These are widely overlooked.
And the worse, what bothers RTO inspector is the reflecting yellow stickers on the sides of the commercial vehicles. If this is in good condition the truck gets fitness certificate .

Needless to mention about our stupid population, if victims involved in accident (clearly due to the reasons of bad civil engineering, irresponsible driving and horrible vehicle conditions) die in hospital, the relatives of the victims end up beating doctors for not saving life .

-UB

[Shashwat B]

Originally Posted by krishsreedharan

How about the RTOs who sit in on new drivers taking their test for their permanent license? Just riding a bike in a figure 8 and driving a few 100 meters does not qualify the student to get his license converted into a permanent one.

Secondly, in the last few months, there has been a need for me to extensively travel on the Ghats. It is rather scary the way people on the plains drive their vehicles on the hills - especially Taxi Drivers and Bikers. I for one, believe it is good for drivers who drive on the hills to have a separate test on hill driving - from what I have seen, nobody gives a hoot about the basic tenet of hill driving - Give way to vehicles going uphill.

I completely agree with this. There should be extensive testing. I understand that this will be time consuming but it is necessary.

I recall an incident, on the hair pin bends of Ooty, this particular taxi guy was driving like in the game - NFS Carbon.

After a couple of turn, due to an oncoming truck, he ended up hiting the wall. ( on the side of the hill)

Every type of situation- Driving on hills or Driving on Highway and most importantly driving in rain. Must be tested separately.

As more and more people are preferring automatic cars, maybe a DL for only automatic transmission vehicles can be issued. What do you feel ?

Thanks