The increase in the vehicles on Indian roads do not only affect the pollution but also costs peoples life. The youngsters who own bikes are the major victims in the road accidents happening in India. They either don’t wear their helmets or drive careful enough to avoid getting killed. The central government passed a new bill for traffic regulations recently to tackle the ongoing crisis.
The Motor Vehicles act 2019 was implemented on September 1 2019. To improve the safety of the citizens, the regulations have been stricter now. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways reported that five Lakh road accidents happen in India every year and 1.49 Lakh people are killed with Uttar Pradesh is the top state registering in fatalities. The Motor Vehicle 1998 bill was amended by the Motor Vehicles Bill 2019. The Bill was passed in Lok Sabha on July 23, 2019, and Rajya Sabha on July 31 2019.
Some of the changes are:
- Driving without a license is now Rs.5000/- instead of Rs.500/-
- Over speeding is 1000 for LMV and 2000 Rupees for Medium passenger vehicles
- Drunken Driving is now 10,000 rupees
- Without helmets, you need to pay 1000 Rupees
- Without insurance, it is 2000 Rupees.
The act also has changed its fine structure in other violations. Please look into the new proposed fines under the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019. To save you from the hefty penalties, the smartphone that we use can be used. The Road Transport Ministry recently said that the documents such as Driving license, insurance and other registration forms could be accepted as original documents if its there in the electronic format in apps like DigiLocker and mParivahan. The Standard Operating Procedure (SPO) was issued by the Road and Ministry Transport for accepting the documents. According to that, the ministry had amended the Central Motor Vehicles Rules in 2018, where the materials such as Insurance, Fitness and Permit, Driving License (DL), Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate, and Registration Certificate (RC) can be shown in electronic forms in the place of original documents. Later, revising the same rules under the Information Technology (IT) Act 2000, the ministry stated that the documents could be stored only in DigiLocker and mParivahan. Also, read 15 Best Online Virtual Debit Card providers in India.
mParihavan app
This app is provided by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways through National Informatics Centre (NIC). Once you download the app, all you need to do is enter your personal details, Adhar Card details and the details of your vehicle. By entering the Driving License and the Registration number of your vehicle, the documents can be viewed. This has to be the safest way to save yourself from heavy fines even if you forget to bring along your documents when coming from the home.
DigiLocker app
The Ministry of Electronics and Information powers the DigiLocker App. All you have to do is download the app on your android play store or Apple store and enter your number for the OTP verification and enter your Adhar card number. The DigiLocker currently has 3.73 billion issued documents and 35.3 million registered users.
The information related to Vehicle insurance and its renewal is available on e-Challan apps that are available to officers. If there is no internet connectivity, the offline verification of the mParihavan QR code is made possible by the government. This is a new revolution in digital India, where it benefits both the parties. The enforcement officers need not physically handle the documents and keep a record of each document, while people need not carry original documents every time they travel. For those who have to pay fines can use pay online method which easy and convenient. Visit the e-Challan website on mobile or laptop and check the status of your Challan. To check the status, you can either give the information about the license number or vehicle registration number. Now, your Challan details will be displayed. Once you go to that page, click on Pay now and make the payment. For making the payment make sure your mobile number is verified. The payment can be made from net banking or entering your card details.
When the Motor Vehicles Act was passed in September, a citizen in the National capital Delhi was fined 23,000 rupees. It was a headline on all the news tabloids and social media. The fines have increased ridiculously. Instead of making fun of the government and being lazy its best to adapt to the technology and use our smartphones smartly to save ourselves from the heavy fines. Having our documents ready on our phones can prevent us from paying the penalty as well as carrying our original documents everywhere.
