[CarJunki]

Voted YES and if possible multiple times.
We are a nation of people who are never at fault, surprisingly having a very high number of fatal road accidents.
In any of the accidents (including the ones reported on this forum) I have not seen a case where over speeding or reckless drivers have accepted their fault. In many cases people have defended the reckless drivers who perished in such a fatal accident.

Pain of penalty (jail time, monetary or loss of property) is the only thing that works.
Greater the quantum greater the effectiveness.

No amount of bad roads justify violation of traffic rules.

[opendro]

It all depends on the enforcement. Enforcement will still be a problem for many cases, e.g. not producing original DL or RC. People will still resist carrying the original because getting duplicates is a pain if one loses it. Emission norms are a joke. So, simply spending money to get emission certificate which is sure to be a PASS is meaningless but people might end up getting the test done just to avoid harassment.

If public faces too much harassment, they can turn against the law. So, there has to be a fine balance. E.g. small towns prefer the overloaded school vans because it is a lot cheaper when the van takes a lot of kids at the same time. If authorities crack down on such vans, public will become furious. Law shouldn't hurt the bread and butter of general public.

[Dr.Q]

Voted YES.

Sadly, State Governments have already started diluting these new rules.

WHEN WILL WE GET BETTER GOVERNANCE?

[vijit.gangwar]

Honourable Minister says that increased fines will reduce road deaths. Mr. Minister must know that road quality and road design are equally responsible for road deaths. I do not see him take any initiative to improve the two.

I have not voted, as I do want to seem politically incorrect, but irrespective of fines road deaths will not reduce unless we start segregating traffic on our roads. E Rickshaw and bullock carts cannot co-exist on the same road with Jags / Beemers. But Mr. Minister has taken the easy way out by increasing the penalty on hard working tax paying junta who do not have a voice during elections.

Initiative that he should have taken -
1. DLs are given after proper tests
2. Educate traffic police
3. Design & build proper roads
4. Segregate slow & fast moving traffic on every road (Not only highways)
5. Make vehicle inspection and fitness (for all) an annual affair.
.
.
.
.
Many more

And then increase fines .....

[binand]

I too voted an unequivocal yes.

Originally Posted by Neo18

Our Babus want to levy higher fine with the noble intention of reducing traffic related deaths. The comparison of fines was with those in Singapore in a recent newspaper article. BUT, has our administration provided us with Singapore level of Road and public infrastructure?

I see most of these fines as for not being a good road user. Someone breaking a signal or driving up a one-way or parking haphazardly is actually putting the lives of other road users in danger. I do not consider the argument "I will follow road rules only if I have pristine roads" as any sort of argument. It is a complete strawman.

Originally Posted by The Observer

Second what is the penalty for designing unsafe roads? For not maintaining roads which result in accidents? What about mindless politicians erecting hoardings? What about challenging and penalizing businesses like Ola/Uber/Zomato/Swiggy etc., where their cars/delivery boys blatantly drive wrong side, cut lanes, drive fast to ensure their businesses get a good rating.

These fines are from the Motor Vehicle Act. This act is about regulating vehicles and traffic; not about road design or construction (and it does not have an Uber/Ola exemption).

[bmw_lover]

I voted a Yes.

1. These new fines have really instilled great amount of fear in the citizens. Though the word "fear" has a negative connotation, in this case it is positive. Forget about over-speeding or jumping the red light, cars don't even breach the zebra crossings now. If by mistake anyone does, they immediately back off. To be honest every Indian likes U.S. of A. but nobody realize that whatever it is to like about America it is because of discipline which is achieved foremost by fear of law. This new law is exactly the beginning needed in that direction. I myself has started putting seat belts on even when i am going to the gym at 6 in the morning which i never did earlier. This fear has the ability to stop us from doing or trying many things on the road which may not be punishable by law but morally may not be correct or safe/ethical.

2. Even if someone is rich who can afford to pay these high fines, he too surely will feel the pinch. After all nobody has money to waste and one did not became rich in the first place by needlessly wasting money. Also if not the amount of fine then the hassle of going to those unwelcoming courts and waiting endlessly in ques is a bigger deterrent.

3. The average middle class man surely will follow all the rules and maybe even some more whose monthly budget really goes for a toss even if he gets caught once over-speeding or without licence. He might even re-consider buying that second car which most definitely will be used very less since now he will have to adhere to all necessities like insurance, PUC etc. which will drive the true cost of ownership high. Will help in battling road congestion.

4. The so called poor man who somehow developed the balls to buy a second hand bike/scooter after years of saving is the only one who will be slaughtered. But that too for me is a blessing in disguise. As per my experience this section creates the maximum nuisance on road. He will surely have to live without his wheels now and use the public transport like he did earlier. Which will definitely result in state corporations get increased revenues. The increased ridership will encourage and force the improvement of the public transport infrastructure.

5. Only the uber rich or HNI's will be unaffected but i think they are not to be bothered at all. It makes no sense for these guys to buy a 1cr+ car and then use it without insurance or other necessary papers. Also more than the fine the mental harassment and the cost of time involved in resolving these matters is a bigger deterrent for this group. I mean it always spoils my mood for the whole day when stopped by a cop even if i am let-off with a little palm greasing.

6. If cops see this as an opportunity, still the bribes too will see an increased rate list. A 200 rs. bribe will now be a 1500 rs bribe which will still be a BIG pinch.

7. Note to the critics (including state governments like Gujarat) - Respect the ability and intentions of the law makers as well. They too are educated and experienced folks at least the center is trying to do something not napping as often they are accused of. There is no point in making noise about the ill-effects of this law before giving it ample time to show its positives. Treat this as a pilot project of sorts for a period of 6 months or maybe even 1 year and then we can compare the data (No. of accidents, Fatal accidents, Road deaths, cases of road rage) and then take the final call whether to keep it or not or if some tweaking is required for even better results. After all how much time would it take to nullify this law if results are not as expected. also if the new law does bring in some discipline and road accidents decline, i am sure it will also bring breathing space to state expenditure and administrative machinery.

8. When people will correctly, swiftly and completely follow this law; over a period of time they will start enjoying the positive outcomes/changes in the general on-road behavior, traffic situation, lesser traffic jams and cases of road rage. This will definitely create a sense of respect for law in general and people then may be inspired to follow not only this law but others as well not by force but by their own will like we do in foreign countries.

9. A special note of thanks and appreciation to the Delhi cops. After going through news reports, magazine articles and newspapers, i could not find a single case of police argument or misbehavior with the violators. I found out that they have been specially asked to deal with empathy and without aggression. Kudos to the state government. How thoughtful.

[bmw_lover]

On a lighter note, an article by Jug Suraiya in Times Of India:

Foreign rule
An open letter from the Bharatiya Association of Drivers (BAD) to the minister for roads and transport

Honorable and Respected Mantriji, On behalf of the Bharatiya Association of Drivers (BAD) I am bringing to your notice that 72 years after India won Independence we, the drivers of this country, are once again facing the zulm of foreign rule.

And I am sad to say this foreign rule is being imposed on us by none other than the ministry over which your esteemed self presides: viz the ministry of roads and transport, which has begun, without any provocation, to levy zubberdust fines – often amounting to many thousands of rupees – on us poor drivers of all kinds, be they drivers of cars, two-wheeler, three-wheeler, trucks, buses, and, for all we know, of bullock carts as well.

Fines are being imposed for a meaningless rule like ‘Driving on the wrong side of the road’. How can there be a wrong side of a road and a right side? Both sides are same-to-same. So who says there’s a wrong side of the road? Does the road say it? Then there’s a fine to do with those pretty decorations on our roads, which are like Diwali lights, and change color from green, to yellow, to red.

All of sudden a rule has been made that when the red light is on all drivers must stop and wait for it to turn green. How dumb is that. As if those stupid lights know when I’m running late to pick my Missus up from her kitty party, or the kiddies from school.

Then there are these rules about seat belts and safety helmets. Will the people riding on a bullock cart also have to wear seat belts? Will the buffalo have to wear a helmet?

All rules – particularly road rules – are totally foreign to us. This foreign rule-bazi must end, or all of us who belong to BAD will do a rasta-roko and block all the roads, highways and gulli-guchhas in the country.
Drivers of India unite! You have nothing to lose but your challans!

Yrs etc, NR Chist

[The Observer]

Originally Posted by binand

I too voted an unequivocal yes.

These fines are from the Motor Vehicle Act. This act is about regulating vehicles and traffic; not about road design or construction (and it does not have an Uber/Ola exemption).

Agree, but traffic and vehicles ply on the roads only right? Roads are very much part of the ecosystem, so are businesses who sit back and earn money putting everyone else at risk, lets make holistic progress and not just pick on easy targets.

[sarathlal]

Originally Posted by vijit.gangwar

Initiative that he should have taken -
1. DLs are given after proper tests
2. Educate traffic police
3. Design & build proper roads
4. Segregate slow & fast moving traffic on every road (Not only highways)
5. Make vehicle inspection and fitness (for all) an annual affair.
.
.
.
.
Many more

And then increase fines .....

All of the above are required, but not having them does not mean one can break the law and demand not to be penalized.

In my humble opinion, traffic rules are to be followed regardless, and not having proper DL tests etc is no excuse to jump a red signal and put fellow road users at risk.

At a time when even blood relations are lacking empathy towards each other, its unrealistic to expect a stranger driver on the road to be empathetic (say for eg; dimming his/her high beam for us). Heavy fines are time tested formula for teaching traffic discipline.

[The Observer]

Originally Posted by sarathlal

All of the above are required, but not having them does not mean one can break the law and demand not to be penalized.

In my humble opinion, traffic rules are to be followed regardless, and not having proper DL tests etc is no excuse to jump a red signal and put fellow road users at risk.

At a time when even blood relations are lacking empathy towards each other, its unrealistic to expect a stranger driver on the road to be empathetic (say for eg; dimming his/her high beam for us). Heavy fines are time tested formula for teaching traffic discipline.

IMHO the point is not start steep fines until everything in the system is fixed. These rules are welcome and a step in right direction. The point is to emphasize that in the whole system - everything is interconnected far more greatly than what meets the eye and impacts each other. So earnestly regulating only one part of the system will not solve the problem. We need to do more than just increasing fines.

[Amity]

Voted Yes.

Though susceptible to misuse by Police/enforcement agencies, I feel it is a really good step. Apologies for generalising but in our country people only listen when there is some threat/loss to them. At my native place in rural Haryana, I know that people do not bother to get a driving license, renew insurance after first year, buy helmets, get PUC done etc. as it is deemed waste of money. However, with such fines, it may be a deterrent to them and they will hopefully take steps to comply with requirements.

With respect to newsreports on heavy fines, I am surprised that news channels/social media is making such noises when Trucks have been fined in lakhs. It is to be noted that those vehicles were not in possession of any of the documents required to ply on roads. Be it Driving License, Fitness Certificate, Overloading, PUC etc. They were flouting every rule there is.

There may be instances wherein people may have mistakenly violated law due to factors such as wrong placements of traffic lights, road design, changing speed limits etc. But overall it may be a good thing for everyone in the long run. If only people realise that compliance with rules will save lives, time and money.

[Annibaddh]

Originally Posted by PetrolRider

On contrary, there are ZERO effect in Pune and there are zero effort from Pune traffic police on enforcement apart from nice quotes in twitter. So, can't agree more to the argument that, laws are as good as their enforcement.

Same is the case in Mumbai. Auto-rickshaws and Bikes merrily jumping signals. Wrong side driving, even on main roads remains the rule. Lane jumping, heavy vehicles and ricks / bikes occupying all lanes remains the norm.

On a related note, I'm quite shocked to read of people driving without insurance. I thought that was a bare minimum that most people followed. But clearly not! Freak. We are worse than I imagined!

[gtonsing]

Voted YES.
However, like many of us here, I think while the initiative is commendable, it should be fair on the road users as well. "Dangerous driving" could be very nicely contested. I was avoiding potholes, so I dont have to repair my vehicle. But traffic police thinks I am driving dangerously. There could be more. Slapping of No-Parking signs on almost every road in Bangalore is another case in point. So do we hover around while someone goes and buys something? I agree drunken driving, driving with D/L etc should be penalised big time. But it is similar in practicality to policing "DUI". By the time the real "players" are on the roads, Police have long gone home.

[luvDriving]

I voted Yes but alas this is not applicable to Pune (rather Maharashtra since the Hon'ble minister announced deferring the implementation).

I had in fact seen improvement in Pune a few weeks ago. I had echoed my sentiments here that I doubt whether this will continue and as stated by PetrolRider, the effect has vanished.

The traffic police are least bothered about doing anything even if someone is blatantly jumping signals right in front of their eyes. People are going to continue with their ways if the authorities do not make a show of force.

So to sum up, yes the steep new traffic fines will deter traffic offenders provided that the implementation is given the right support by traffic authorities.

[atnyia]

Given the impact these fines have been having, my vote is a no brainer 'Yes'.

We have been having:
1) Major jump in insurance renewals.
2) More people applying for driving licenses.
3) Rule consciousness and compliance across the board.

What else a Team-BHPian could wish for.

There has been some concerns for the states diluting the rules. I beg to differ in some aspects. What I understand is that states can lower the fines for non-serious traffic offenses wrt to helmets or not carrying documents. However, the offenses which cause actual hazards like signal jumping, rash driving, DUI, minors driving etc are still out of bounds for states.

I for one, prefer that. Fining people thousands of rupees for not carrying the documents or pollution certificate seems to be an overkill. Most people have documents and PUC is just bureaucracy.

Helmets/seat-belts/triple-riding is a sticky topic due to safety concerns. But mostly, these aren't hazards to others. Wrong side driving is a serious problem and fines for these should be high.

Apart from all the politics around, MVA will deliver us safer roads.

p.s. - It was really sad to read a hit job on the transport minister in the ET. It's one of the rare departments which has shown the wherewithal to take the right although unpopular decisions.