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State Governments may be empowered to ask the police forces or other agencies they deem fit to check overloading by commercial vehicles. Currently, only the Motor Vehicles Department officials have the power to check such overloading.
This is one of the provisions suggested by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill.
The Road Transport Ministry has now decided to move the Cabinet to implement the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2007, on which the Parliamentary Standing Committee had already deliberated in 2008.
“Various States had said that the police be empowered to check overloading as well. So, we have proposed that State Governments should be allowed to designate any agency they deem fit, apart from the motor transport department, to check overloading,” said a Ministry source.
More stringent penalties for traffic violations such as driving at excess speed, use of mobile phones, driving without seatbelts are suggested in the amendments.
The Ministry has increased the fines in its proposal compared to the proposed levels of Amendment Bill, 2007.
PROPOSED CHANGES
For instance, driving beyond permissible speed limits could attract Rs 1,000 fine for over-speeding by up to 10 km/hour (kmph); Rs 2,000 if the vehicle is over-speeding between 10-25 kmph; and Rs 5,000 for beyond 25 kmph. Currently, the fine is up to Rs 400 for first offence and up to Rs 1,000 for second offence.
Also, if a vehicle owner permits an unauthorised person (without valid driving licence) to drive his vehicle, then a penalty of Rs 2,000, or three months imprisonment, or both has been proposed by the Ministry. Currently, such violations attract a fine of up to Rs 1,000, or three months imprisonment, or both.
For the commercial road transport sector, the Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill, 2007 had also suggested an enabling provision to make the common carriers such as transport agents accountable for overloading.
These proposed amendments had gone into the backburner, because in 2009, the then Road Transport Minister, Mr Kamal Nath, sought a review of the entire process. He had set up a committee, headed by the former Road Transport Secretary, Mr S. Sunder, to review the entire Act. A Parliamentary committee had also pulled up the Road Transport Ministry for not implementing the Bill.
Now, the Road Transport Minister, Mr C.P. Joshi, based on discussions in the Ministry, has decided to move ahead on the Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill, 2007, with requisite modifications.
“We have decided to invite comments from the other Ministries on the Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill based on recommendations of Standing Committee of Parliament, along with some modifications,” a source told Business Line .
The modifications would be regarding higher penalties for use of mobile phone while driving and not using seat belts, an issue flagged by the Sunder Committee.
The Ministry has recommended a fine of Rs 1,000 each for offences such as use of mobile phones while driving, not wearing seat belts and not wearing helmets (for the driver and pillion rider).
The Sunder Committee recommendations will also be studied for implementation in future. The Committee, while suggesting many reforms, had called for a complete overhaul of the Act – a move that would have further delayed implementation of the amendments.
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