Higher penalties for traffic violations will soon come into effect from September 1 as the Central Government plans to implement provisions of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 from the beginning of next month.
"Higher penalties for traffic violations are being issued for public interest. Increased penalties will help in reducing accidents as people will become more cautious. Moreover, the existing fines are decades-old which are required to change," said Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari in a media briefing on Wednesday.
Replacing old transportation law, the newly introduced Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill 2019 aims to reduce basic transport-related hazards for the commuters.
The Union Minister also informed the media that the Centre is working towards improving the quality of roads and the engineering used in constructing it.
He also told media persons that the increased penalties have been fixed keeping a special focus on drunken driving, overloading, riding without a helmet, driving without a license and other common traffic violations.
The Union Minister also informed that penalty for vehicles blocking ambulance or fire tenders on the roads has also been hiked, to reduce such violations.
According to the official data, in 2017 there have been over 1.5 lakh accident-related deaths across India.
( With inputs from ANI )