Bengaluru: Bowing to public pressure, the state government on Saturday directed the transport department to cut in the penalties for traffic violations under the amended Motor Vehicles (MV) Act.
The step came a few days after the Gujarat government reduced the fines for the traffic rules violations. The hefty fine levied under the amended MV act met with severe criticism with the public demanding good road infrastructure first.
The government in its notification has slashed fines for various violations which came into effect from Saturday itself. The fine for riding without helmet and failure to use safety belts and seating of children has been reduced from Rs 1,000 to Rs 500.
Fine for driving at excessive speed has been reduced from Rs 2,000 to Rs 1,000 for two-wheelers, three-wheelers and light motor vehicles while the penalty for the rest has been reduced from Rs 4,000 to Rs 2,000.
For driving uninsured vehicle, the fine has been reduced to Rs 1,000 for two- and three-wheelers, Rs 2,000 for LMVs and Rs 4,000 for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and others. Earlier, the fine amount was Rs 2,000 for the first offence, Rs 4,000 for second and subsequent offence.
Likewise, for driving vehicles exceeding permissible weight, the fine has been reduced to Rs 5,000 for overloading and Rs 2,000 for every additional tonne of excess load together with the liability to pay charges for off-loading of the excess load. Earlier it was Rs 20,000 and Rs 2,000 for every additional tonne of excess load together with the liability to pay charges for offloading of the excess load.
Using vehicles without permit/violation of permit conditions the fine earlier was Rs 10,000 for the first offence, Rs 10,000 for the second and subsequent offence. It is now Rs 5,000 for the first offence, Rs 10,000 for the second and subsequent offence.
On July 31, Parliament had passed the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019, in which fines for the traffic rule violations were drastically increased. Following the public outcry, the Chief Minister B.S. Yeddiyurappa announced that fine would be revised on the lines of Gujarat which has already cut in the penalties.
