Haryana, which implemented stricter penalties for traffic violations under the Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act, 2019, has collected fines of ₹52.32 lakh in just four days from September 1.

In Odisha, 4,080 challans were issued and ₹88.90 lakh was collected, and 46 vehicles were seized in the first four days of the stricter penalties kicking in.

As States went about implementing the punitive penalties, many erring drivers simply handed over their vehicles to the police, according to reports. Also, as most people do not carry large amounts of cash, a number penalties are pending.

India, which registers 1.5 lakh deaths a year, brought in an enabling legislation imposing stricter penalties. It has allowed States to decide on the date of implementing the new law and the extent of higher penalties.

Penalties

Now, in several States, the penalties for road rule violations have gone up. For instance, for driving without helmets, it is either a fine of ₹1,000 or suspension of licence for three months. the fine is ₹25,000 for drunken driving, ₹5,000 for driving without licence, ₹1,000 for carrying more than the permitted number of passengers, ₹2,000 for overloading of two wheelers, and ₹5,000 for speeding and racing.

Many States, including Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, were already levying higher penalties than what was proposed in the Motor Vehicle Act.

Drivers who have paid penalties are becoming cautious, especially as it is not just the policemen enforcing the la and collecting fines, even CCTVs are being used to record traffic violations and fine the erring drivers.

But drivers also complain of policing and implementation of rules at different levels of strictness.

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