Good roads lead to accidents: Karnataka Deputy CM's bizarre theory
In a bizarre explanation on his government's decision to reduce the hefty fines for traffic violations that was introduced by the Centre under the Motor Vehicles Act, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Govind Karjol said "good and safe" roads were responsible for accidents.
Speaking to the reporters in Bengaluru, Karjol said, “There are a number of accidents that are reported and the media blames the bad roads. But I believe it is due to good roads...... People drive at high speeds on our roads. Accidents happen on highways when people drive at speeds above 100kmph.”
He further said that he doesn’t support levying such high fines.
Under the amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act, fines pertaining to traffic offences have been increased by a significant margin.
The revised Act came into force starting September 1st across India. Since then, we have come across multiple cases in which huge amount of fines have been imposed on the rule breakers.
Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has rejected suggestions that the Centre to bring down the hefty penalties for violations, insisting that the penalties would lose their deterrent impact if they are rolled back.
Recently, a Delhi man was fined Rs 23,000 for riding a motorcycle without wearing a helmet and also for not carrying the relevant documents.
Also an auto-rickshaw driver in Odisha's Bhubaneswar was fined a whopping Rs 47,500 for violating a slew of traffic rules under the Motor Vehicles Amendment Act 2019.
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Here's the new challan list under the amended motor vehicles act:
Complete list of penalties under Motor Vehicles Act, 2019 with effect from September 1, 2019
| Penalty | Old Amount | New Amount |
| Penalty for offenses where no penalty is specifically provided | Rs 100 for first offense and Rs 300 for second/subequent offense | Rs 500 for first time offense, Rs 1,500 for subsequent offense |
| Violation of road regulations | - | Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 |
| Traveling without Ticket | Rs 200 | Rs 500 |
| Disobedience of orders of Authority and refusal to share information | Rs 500 | Rs 2,000 |
| Unauthorised use of vehicles without license | Rs 1,000 | Rs 5,000 |
| Driving without license | Rs 500 | Rs 5,000 |
| Driving despite disqualification | Rs 500 | Rs 10,000 |
| Over-speeding | Rs 400 | Rs 1000 - Rs 2000 for light motor vehicle, Rs 2,000 - Rs 4,000 for medium passenger or goods vehicles and impounding of driving license for second/subsequent offence. |
| Dangerous Driving | - | Imprisonment of 6 months to 1 year and/or fine of Rs. 1000- Rs. 5000 for first offence and imprisonment up to 2 years and/or fine up to Rs. 10000 for second offence. |
| Drunken Driving | - | Imprisonment up to 6 months and/or fine up to Rs. 10000 for first offence and imprisonment up to 2 years and/or fine of Rs. 15000 for second offence. |
| Driving when mentally or physically unfit to drive for | Rs 200 for first offense, Rs 500 for second/subsequent offense | First offence - Rs. 1000 and second/subsequent offence - Rs.2000 |
| Offences relating to accident | - | Imprisonment of up to 6 months and/or fine up to Rs. 5000 for first offence and imprisonment up to 1 year and/or fine up to Rs. 10000 for second offence. |
| Racing and speeding | - | Imprisonment of up to 1 month and/or fine up to Rs. 500 for first offence and imprisonment up to 1month and/or fine up to Rs. 10000 for second offence. |
| Driving uninsured vehicle | fine of Rs. 1000 and/or punishment up to 3 months | Rs. 2000 and/or imprisonment up to 3 months for the first offence and fine of Rs. 4000 and/or imprisonment up to 3 months for the second offence. |
| Taking vehicle without lawful authority and seizing motor vehicle by force | Rs 500 | Rs. 5000 |
| Causing obstruction to free flow of traffic | Rs 50 | Rs. 500 |
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