Taking an immediate step in a massive crackdown against reckless driving and rule violations on the roads, India, since March 1, has been enforcing new and stricter penalties. With new penalties already heavy on the pocket, those found guilty will now also get jail time or community service, which shows no tolerance toward traffic offenders.
Drink And Drive?
Get ready for jail and ₹15,000 penalty. Prepare to pay for a drunken drive ₹10,000 and/or six months in jail, while repeat offenders will have to pay a fine of ₹15,000 and are also liable to be sent to jail for up to 2 years — quite a jump from the earlier fine of ₹1,000 to ₹1,500.
No Helmet
Riding without a helmet has been a mere ₹100 fine but now it will cost you ₹1,000, which may lead to license cancellation for 3 months. Not buckling up will now punish you with a ₹1,000 fine too.
Driving While On The Phone
Using a mobile phone while driving puts you back by a hefty ₹5,000 now from ₹500, which is a punishment to distract drivers seriously.
Missing Documents?
Driving a motor vehicle without a valid driving license or insurance will attract ₹5,000 and ₹2,000 fines respectively, plus a possible three-month jail term and community service. For insurance repeat offenders, there are ₹4,000 worth of fines.
If you don’t have a Pollution certificate then, you’ll have a fine of ₹10,000 and/or a six-month jail sentence with community service.
Triple Riding, Dangerous Driving, Racing
Triple riding on a two-wheeler now has a penalty of ₹1,000 and dangerous driving or racing has a fine of ₹5,000. The penalty for not giving way to ambulances will be ₹10,000.
Jumping Signals And Overloading
Signal jumping incurs now ₹5,000 penalty, and overloading of vehicles gets to be fined at a stupendous rate of ₹20,000 — a whopping rise from old ₹2,000.