Mumbai: Driving around was easier in the past. But now with millions of vehicles on the road, it just becomes a nightmare. Either pedestrians don’t obey the road safety guide, or drivers don’t pay attention to road safety. However, one can end up in a big mess if anyone flouts the norms.
Gone will be the days when you could get away with either paying the traffic cop a few bucks for a small offence. Jumping a signal won’t get you Rs 100 fine anymore. The penalty rates will increase with almost 10-fold the amount. To beat that, the government is planning a penalty point system, which adds up to your offence, even though you pay the fine.
The draft Road Transport and Safety Bill 2014 is available on the website of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The draft claims that the fines levied on the defaulters will be exorbitant and the penalizing structure could help take road safety to a new high. The new bill will be put in force after a whopping two decades.
The new road safety system implies a point system apart from the fines. Take a look at the table below, which shows how the point system works.
Allocation of penalty points:
- The enforcing authority or any person authorized in this behalf shall allocate penalty points corresponding to the specific offence to any person who commits an offence as provided under 279. The penalty points shall be endorsed and their record shall be maintained in a manner as may be prescribed by the national authority.
- For the offences involving judicial proceedings and imprisonment, the court shall allocate penalty points in addition to the fine or imprisonment that may be imposed.
Duration of validity of penalty points:
Penalty points awarded for an offence shall remain on record for a period of 3 years from the date of award.
Suspension:
At any point of time, if the cumulative total of the penalty points accrued by a driver crosses the limit of twelve (12) points, the driving licence shall be suspended for the period of one year. On suspension of the driving licence, the accrued penalty points shall cease to subsist.
Cancellation:
If a driver whose licence has been suspended again accumulates twelve (12) points, that person’s driving licence shall be cancelled for a period of five years.
Cancellation of learner’s licence:
If a person holding a learner’s licence accrues four (4) points, then that person’s learner’s licence shall be cancelled. The person whose learner’s licence has been cancelled shall produce a certificate of driving as prescribed from recognized school or establishment when that person applies for fresh learner’s licence.
As per the fines, have a look at the table below. An extensive list of fines can be found on the draft bill found here.
