Stiffer traffic penalties set to get Cabinet nod

Even as India clocks the highest number of road accident deaths in the world,the Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill proposing stiffer penalties for traffic...

Even as India clocks the highest number of road accident deaths in the world,the Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill proposing stiffer penalties for traffic violations is,according to sources,set to head for Cabinet approval at the earliest. The Cabinet note for the amendments has already been circulated to various ministries and the Law ministry is holding discussions with the Ministry of Shipping,Road Transport & Highways to ready the Bill for Cabinet approval.

The proposed amendments call for hefty fines for traffic violation with a minimum penalty of Rs 500-the current minimum stands at Rs 100. It also provides for a fine upto Rs 5,000 for rash and negligent driving,a new category of offence under the Act the fine for which would be paid into a Solatium Fund. The Fund would be used compensate victims of hit-and-run accidents and would be managed by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority or any other agency specified by the Centre.

However,the ministry has dropped a number of recommendations made by the Departmentally Related Parliamentary Standing Committee headed by CPI(M)s Sitaram Yechury. The committee had been in favour of invoking the Indian Penal Code (IPC)s Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) against drunken driving.

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Moreover,it had said that a drunken driving accident be treated as a premeditated commitment of a crime and the offender punishable under the relevant section of the IPC depending on the magnitude of the accident.

The Ministry deemed the committees view as harsh in view of the fact that there is still no proper accident investigation conducted in the country and that provisions for such stringent punishments fall under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

The proposed Bill also stipulates that the insurer be relieved of liability in case a vehicle involved in an accident is being driven by a person without a valid driving licence and empowers the designated state government authority to suspend the licence for a period not exceeding three months if the driver is under the influence of alcohol.

The Ministry has,however,decided to incorporate the Committees recommendations relating to the prosecution for drunken driving according to the alcohol content in the blood stream.

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The committee had suggested that while 30-60 mg alcohol in 100 ml of blood should incur a penalty of Rs 2,000,up to 150mg alcohol should attract a fine of Rs 4,000 and levels exceeding that would attract a Rs 5,000 fine and imprisonment with provisions for cancellation of the driving license.