Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill 2019: Increased penalties, fines and new rules | Everything you need to know about the bill passed in Lok Sabha

Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the Motor Vehicle Amendment bill. The Bill is aimed at weeding out corruption, improving road safety and promoting the use of more technology to regulate traffic.

The new Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill 2019 will amend the provisions set by its predecessor bill of 1988.

Speaking on The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which was moved in the House for passage on Monday, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said "the Bill is not mandatory for states to join". He, however, appealed to all the states to adopt similar policies.

Seeking amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, with increased penalties for several offences such as driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, the Minister said the Bill also provides for the grant of licences and permits related to motor vehicles, standards for motor vehicles and penalties for violation of these provisions.

Here are the highlights of the Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill 2019:

The Motos Vehicle Amendment Bill 2019 increases penalties on several offences.
Drink n Drive: The penalty for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs has been increased from Rs 2000 to Rs 10000.
If the carmaker fails to comply with motor vehicle standards, the penalty will be a fine of up to Rs 100 crore. There is also provision for imprisonment.
All fines under this act are subject to a 10 per cent increase every year. This is purely based on the Central Government.
The government will develop a scheme for FREE treatment of victims of road accidents during 'golden hour'.
Golden Hour: The government describes the golden hour as the first one hour after a traumatic accident.
Maximum Compensation in case of death has been increased from Rs 25,000 to Rs 2,00,000.
Maximum Compensation for Injuries has been increased from 12,500 to 50,000.
GOOD SAMARITAN: The Bill defines a good samaritan as a person who renders emergency medical or non-medical assistance to a victim at the scene of an accident. The assistance must have been in good faith, it needs to be voluntary, and without the expectation of any reward. Such a person will not be liable for any civil or criminal action for any injury to or death of an accident victim caused due to their negligence in providing assistance to the victim.
Compulsory Insurance: Central government to constitute a Motor Vehicle Accident Fund, to provide compulsory insurance cover to all road users in India

Here is the complete list of increase in penalties:

What you may do	What you pay right now	What you may have to shell out in future
Driving without seatbelt	Rs 100	Rs 1000
No helmet	Rs 100	Rs 1000 and license disqualification for 3 months
Not making way for emergency vehicles like ambulances etc.	No fine	Rs 10,000
Drunk driving	Rs 2000	Rs 10,000
Driving in spite of license disqualification	Rs 500	Rs 10,000
Racing/ Speeding	Rs 500	Rs 5,000
Driving without license	Rs 500	Rs 5000
Offences by juveniles	No fine	Rs 25,000 fine and 3-year jail to guardian/owner of the vehicle, cancellation of vehicle registration