Take care or pay more fine for tariff violations

VIJAYAWADA: Think twice before driving a vehicle without having valid documents, talking over a mobile phone while driving or  disobeying the orders of an officer who stops your vehicle for checking. The State government on Wednesday gave approval for revising the fines for various traffic violations in the State as per the Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill-2019. The revised tariff for traffic violations will come into force from Wednesday.

While the penalty for some of the offences remained the same, the State government increased the fines for the remaining. The government has also brought various categories of vehicles — from two-wheelers to four-wheelers — under one category for imposing fines. 

As per the government order, a person caught driving a vehicle without registration certificate (RC) or lapsed RC or without a fitness certificate will be imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 for the first offence. Earlier, the penalty was Rs 2,000. The penalty would be Rs 8,000 for second and subsequent offences. The fine  for the second offence was Rs 5,000 earlier. Similarly, a fine of Rs 1,000, against Rs 750 earlier, will be collected for disobedience of orders of the checking officer and Rs 1,000 for refusal to give information, against the earlier Rs 750. 

Deputy Transport Commissioner (DTC) M Purendra told TNIE that in September 2019, the transport department constituted a committee to study the fines being imposed on the violators elsewhere in the country following the passage of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill-2019. The committee, headed by assistant transport commissioner P Srinivasa Rao, submitted its draft report to the State government on September 13.

However, after examining the draft, the government refused to revise the penalties twice and suggested that the penalties should be affordable.  Almost a year after passing the Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill-2019, the Supreme Court has recently given oral instructions to the transport department to revise the fine for traffic violations. Following the orders, the State government has issued a GO to implement the revised tariff with immediate effect, he said.

Asked whether the department will sensitise the vehicle users about the new tariff, Purendra maintained the public was aware of the Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill. “If the department starts sensitising the vehicle users once again, it may take six more months for the enforcement,’’ he said. 

At present, the department penalises the vehicle users in 3 categories — road safety violations, vehicles plying without valid taxations and vehicles  with documents expired before February 1. An exemption was given till December 31 if the documents expired after February 1.