Driving without insurance will be punishable with Rs 2,000 compounding fees

State transport commissioner Avinash Dhakane said the hike in compounding fees will help bring down accidents and ensure discipline among the citizens.

“This will help improve overall road safety, reduce fatalities and ensure better road discipline among people,” Dhakane said.

Mumbai:
The Maharashtra government has hiked the compounding fees for traffic offences by issuing a notification about the implementation of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019, an official from the state Motor Vehicles Department (MMVD) said.

The state government recently issued the notification about the implementation of the 2019 Act in the state and the new compounding fees for various offences came into effect from December 1.

Talking to PTI, state transport commissioner Avinash Dhakane said the hike in compounding fees will help bring down accidents and ensure discipline among the citizens.

“This will help improve overall road safety, reduce fatalities and ensure better road discipline among people,” Dhakane said.

As per the notification, the compounding fees of Rs 10,000 will be levied for not providing a way to ambulance, whereas unauthorised interference with the vehicle will invite a compounding fees of Rs 1,000.

Driving without insurance will be punishable with Rs 2,000 compounding fees, while unauthorised interference with the vehicle will attract a Rs 1,000 fees.

The compounding fees for travelling without ticket or pass on stage carriage buses will be Rs 500, according to the notification.

As per the notification, a driver without licence will attract Rs 5,000 compounding fees, while the owner of vehicle will also invite the same amount of compounding fees for allowing without such a person to drive his vehicle.

According to an MMVD official, the state government has reduced the compounding fees in case of several offences compared to the fines and penalties defined in the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, which came into effect from September 1, 2019.

However, at the time the Maharashtra government was not in favour of penalising traffic rule violators with hefty fines as per the amended Act.

As per the notification, the copy of which is in possession of PTI, the compounding fees is in the range of Rs 200 to Rs 1 lakh for various offences.

For instance, offenders will have to pay Rs 1,000 compounding fees for displaying registration plate (number plate) other than in prescribed forms, for driving vehicles without reflectors and tail lamps.

Apart from the above offences under section 177 of the Motor Vehicles Act, the compounding fees has been hiked to Rs 500 if the offence has been committed for the first time and Rs 1,500 for the second offence and thereafter, the notification stated.

For the first offence, breaching parking laws, not having a Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate, being unable to provide paperwork, having dark film or ads on the window, jumping the signal, and not wearing a seat belt will now result in a Rs 500 fine.

The fine for the second and subsequent crimes is Rs 1,500. Previously, each infraction required a Rs 200 fine.

According to the government’s notification, a biker’s driving licence would be suspended for three months if both the rider and pillion are detected riding without a helmet and exceeding the seating capacity.

The driving licence will also be revoked if any individual drives or is driven in a vehicle in a public location in violation of the requirements set for road safety, noise control, and air pollution. The penalty for this has also been enhanced.

The penalties for racing in a public place has been raised from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 for the first violation and Rs 10,000 for each subsequent infraction. The car owner would be fined Rs 5,000 for permitting an unauthorised individual to drive it. This was once Rs 500.

On July 15, 2019, the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was introduced in Lok Sabha. Despite the fact that it was enacted and became an Act, Maharashtra did not execute it.