Abstract
Traffic rules violations are not new in India. As per a report of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, in the year 2020, 1,31,714 people lost their life in road accidents and 3,66,138 overall injuries and fatalities.[1] Unfortunately, the age range of 18 to 45 years, which accounts for around 70% of all unintentional deaths, is the most severely affected by road accidents.[2] The 1988 act in place for curtailing these issues could be seen lacking to instill fear of being penalized in the minds of people. Owing to this, the government in the year 2019 amended the Motor Vehicle Act with the view of tightening the grip over traffic offenders and mitigating the effects of non-compliance of traffic rules. This paper seeks to assess and compare the execution parts of the previous act and the recently revised act in order to comprehend and conclude whether the modification was necessary and whether the suggested alterations will adequately cater the purported effects.
Introduction
As per the World Health Organization, 1.3 million people die of road accidents in the world.[3] In India, the issues of road safety and traffic violations are addressed in the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988.The act includes penalizing and punishing traffic violators among its other goals. But with India rapidly progressing towards urbanization, the traffic on roads can be seen increasing day by day. The rules in place, however, could be seen violated on a daily basis. The effect of which are the increased road fatalities. In India, when a traffic police officer is spotted, seat belts and helmets are worn. And if someone is still caught, they either rely on their connections to avoid paying the fine or try to bribe their way out by paying lesser amount than the fine that go into the pockets of the official in order to avoid paying the actual penalty or suffering any further consequences. Even with fines in place, the rules for safety are rarely adhered with, a major portion of which can be attributed to the muddled execution of these rules. The government, while attempting to mitigate these violations, amended the previous act by introducing Motor Vehicle (Amendment) act, 2019. Along with its other objectives, this act is known for increasing the fines on traffic rules violations. The following parts of the article discuss, dissect and critically analyze the changes brought through the amendment.
The Motor Vehicle Act, 1988
This legislation was passed as a result of the need for numerous modifications and adjustments to the Motor Vehicle Act of 1939 which was failing to address contemporary issues. This legislation contains several specific measures compared to its predecessor statute, including definitions of new vehicles, stricter procedures, higher fines, anti-pollution standards, fitness certifications, third party insurance, the establishment of the Road Safety Council, etc.[4] The objectives of the act included
Following rigorous guidelines for granting licenses and determining how long they are valid;
Upholding standards for driving safety, regulations for the transportation of hazardous materials, and pollution prevention measures;
Maintaining the nation's quickly expanding fleet of personal and business vehicles;
Increasing the compensation sum available in hit-and-run incidents;
Revoking the deadline for people injured in accidents to submit claims for compensation.
But, as the society kept evolving, shortcomings even in this statute were identified. Through its one hundred and forty-ninth report, the law commission recommended some changes to be done in the statute which included the creation of a safer road transport system free from corruption and a system where traffic regulations are followed effectively and suggested amending sections 140, 147, 149, 161, 166, 167, 168 and 178 of this act.[5]
The act could do very less in making the people follow rules and prevent traffic violations. This sparked the need of new stricter laws.
The Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act, 2019
This act was based on the recommendations of the Group of Transport Ministers (GOMs) of states constituted by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, headed by Shri. Yoonus Khan.[6] The 1988 act falls short in a number of scenarios that the 2019 act addresses. This includes provisions for;
Safety of pedestrians and Non-Motorized transport (Section 138 1A);
Safety of children during commute (Sections 194-B, 129, 137 (2)aa);
Recalling of vehicles on the ground of it being old and unfit to meet the safety standards (Section 110A & 110B);
Stringent punishments to hold the contractors guilty in case of faulty road designs, engineering or maintenance (Section 198A);
Offences by Juveniles (Section 199A)
Establishment of National Road Safety Board (Section 215D)
Penalty Multipliers for the state (Section 120A & 120B)
The 2019 Act has also introduced 24 categories of compoundable offences.[7] These are the categories of offences that the offender can pay on the spot instead of going through the hassle of the court (Section 200). Additionally, the clause specifies when an offence can be compounded: both before and after the prosecution is initiated. According to the Act, these 24 categories of offences can be compounded at any time. The relevant state government may announce its own punishment and other consequences for them.[8]
The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019 exhorts states to use technology to increase traffic enforcement and regulation, eradicating corruption and human error in the process. (Section 136A)
When it comes to fines on traffic rules violation, the act, as discussed earlier has increased the amount tenfold and also has laid down stricter punishments.
For instance, under the prior law, failure to give way to emergency vehicles such as ambulances was not punishable. But, the amendment now imposes a fine of Rs. 10,000 and a punishment of community service for the same.
Similarly, previously not wearing helmets would cost the offender a fine of Rs. 300 but now, the same has been increased to Rs. 1000 with 3 months disqualification of the Driving License and community service.
Critical Analysis of the new act
As rightfully observed by the Committee on Road Safety and Traffic Management “of all the system that people have to deal with on a days to day basics, road transport is the most complex and the most unsafe mode of transportation”.[9]
The motor vehicle laws fall under the concurrent list provided in the Indian Constitution, which means, both the states and the centre have powers to make laws in this regard.[10] And when the 2019 amendment was introduced, a lot of states in India were skeptical about implementing these laws and employing the use of such higher penalties in their state.[11] The cause was the poor's inability to pay such hefty sums in the event that they are found breaking even the most trivial rule, as the fines were raised tenfold. The act works on the principal of penalizing- the more the penalty, the safer the citizens will be. The need of which cannot be debated as the system followed on roads today demonstrates it very clearly. But, the practical application of the act indeed looks cumbersome.
Mr. Nitin Gadkari, head of the ministry of Road Transport & Highways, while talking about the amendment bill said that it will provide an Efficient, Safe and Corruption Free Transport System in the Country[12]. But the question as to what changes the act brings in the execution part is important to determine the efficient application of this act. The inclusion of section 136A and the objective of corruption free transport system show us the efforts taken by the ministry to address a very important issue when it comes to the execution of these laws. But just including a section on technological surveillance of traffic violations to be brought in the future and on such basis passing a new law with hefty fines would only increase the already existing issue of corruption. Once the proposed placing of electronic enforcement devices at high risk and high density corridors like the National Highways and State Highways, instalments of Cctvs the usage of Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) are all executed then the potential of the act cannot be debated, at least on the perspective of corruption. Without an active system of check in place, the 2019 act offers citizens the choice to either pay the severe fine and other penalties as is justly due or pay a smaller sum as bribe to the official to avoid the inconvenience as is the reality even now. In other words, until the technological checks are put in place the 2019 act in a way opens up path for more corruption. If a person is asked to pay Rs.1000 as fine and is required to forfeit his driving privileges for three months owing to disqualification of his license for not wearing a helmet, he would have no choice but to wear a helmet. But when the system of imposing this fine in itself is faulty then the whole effort goes in vain. The checks on the other hand are far from being uniformly developed and implemented all over the nation. The notices for its implementation are being sent out almost after 1.5 years of passing of the amendment.[13]The systematic, structured, and transparent technological controls that other nations have in place and which India currently lacks to a greater level than other nations (albeit not entirely) are what make such acts work effectively in those nations.
Conclusion & Suggestion
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways introduced the Motor Vehicle Act, 2019 to encourage digitization, prevent police officers from intimidating the public on the road, lessen traffic accidents, and build an effective and convenient legal system.[14] The act in itself cannot be criticized as it does, to a larger extent, provide grounds to achieve the yields it aims. The positive aspects of the act includes increasing the margin of compensation to the victims, introduction of "Sarathi" and "Vahan" programs for quicker and more effective registration processes for automobiles, provision for applying for renewal of license online, also has provisions which aim to reduce environmental damage (PUC rules), introduction of digital challans (e-challans) and thereby establishing transparency, etc. While the act attempts to do it right on paper, the practical applicability of it has to be made stronger, which can only be achieved after the technological checks proposed by it are put in place. These checks also come with some privacy concern which again makes it important to have a structured, transparent and efficient technology developed and implemented. The implementation of the amendment appears hurried, making the numerous clauses appear haphazard without a clear framework for application across the country. The act would have had a greater impact if it had been passed alongside all of its proposed initiatives, many of which were implemented quite some time after the act's passage. These initiatives included the creation of a National Transportation Policy, a Motor Vehicle Accident Fund and the establishment of a National Road Safety Board, among others. This gave people time to exploit the recently passed amendment and uncover loopholes.
References
Government Reports
Electronic Monitoring of Highways, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, 16 MAR 2022, Report 6
Government of India, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways Transport Research Wing, Road Accidents in India 2020, 21st March, 2020, Road Accident Report....................................................................... 1
Ministry of Road Transport and Highway, Sundar Committee on Road Safety and Traffic Management, Para 1.2. 5
Rajya Sabha passes Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill 2019, Press Information Bureau, Government of India, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, 31-July-2019, Press Information Bureau article................... 3
Removing certain deficiencies in the motor vehicles act, 1988, One hundred and forty-ninth report, Law commission report, 1994. Law commission report......................................................................................... 3
Research Articles
Kapil Chandna, Motor Vehicle Act, 1988: An overview, Lawyers Club India, 25 July 2018, Article .... 2
Sushma Kanwar & Poorti Sharma, Critical Analysis of Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act,...... 6
News Articles
Dipak k. Dash, Traffic fines you can pay on spot and ones that need court visit, Times of India, September 5, 2019. TOI article.............................................................................................................................. 4
Yashovardhan Azad, The Motor Vehicles Act is a good first step. Now, bring in more reforms | Analysis, The Hindustan Times, July 01, 2020, Hindustan Times Article...................................................... 5
[1] Government of India, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways Transport Research Wing, Road Accidents in India 2020, 21st March, 2020, Road Accident Report [2] Id. [3] Id. [4] Kapil Chandna, Motor Vehicle Act, 1988: An overview, Lawyers Club India, 25 July 2018 Article [5] Removing certain deficiencies in the motor vehicles act, 1988, One hundred and forty-ninth report, Law commission report, 1994. Law commission report [6] Rajya Sabha passes Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill 2019, Press Information Bureau, Government of India, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, 31-July-2019, Press Information Bureau article [7]Dipak k. Dash, Traffic fines you can pay on spot and ones that need court visit, Times of India, September 5, 2019. TOI article [8] Id. [9] Ministry of Road Transport and Highway, Sundar Committee on Road Safety and Traffic Management, Para 1.2. [10] Press Information bureau, Supra note 6. [11] Yashovardhan Azad, The Motor Vehicles Act is a good first step. Now, bring in more reforms | Analysis, The Hindustan Times, July 01, 2020, Hindustan Times Article [12] Press Information bureau, Supra Note 6. [13]Electronic Monitoring of Highways, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, 16 MAR 2022, Report [14]Sushma Kanwar & Poorti Sharma, Critical Analysis of Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act, 2019 in Reference to Modern India, 4 INT'l J.L. MGMT. & HUMAN. 49 (2021).
Written By,
Anjali Nair
Intern, Chanchlani Law World
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