Uttarakhand adopts Motor Vehicles Act but reduces penalty amount

Likewise, the penalty has been reduced from Rs 5,000– the amount proposed by the Centre– to Rs 2,500 in case a person drives a vehicle without a licence or a minor drives vehicle at any public place.

If a person, who has been disqualified from having a driving licence drives a vehicle at any public place, a penalty of Rs 5,000 will be imposed instead of Rs 10,000.

In case of use of handheld communication devices, while driving, the Centre has proposed a penalty of Rs 5,000. Uttarakhand government has decided that a penalty of Rs 1,000 will be slapped on the first offence, Rs 5,000 for second and subsequent offences.

For the violation of standards of air pollution or noise pollution, the Centre has proposed a penalty of Rs 10,000. But the state government has decided that a penalty of Rs 2,500 will be charged in first offence and Rs 5000 in second and subsequent offences.

In cases of overloading in heavy vehicles, the Centre has proposed a penalty of Rs 20,000 and further Rs 2,000 for every additional ton of cargo above the prescribed weight limit. The Uttarakhand cabinet has decided that in place of Rs 20,000, a penalty of only Rs 2,000 for light motor vehicle and Rs 5,000 for medium and heavy vehicles will be imposed. Also, Rs 2,000 will be charged for all category vehicles for every additional ton of cargo above the prescribed weight limit.

If a driver denies to turn up for weighing his vehicle, he will be charged a penalty of Rs 20,000 only while the Centre has proposed a penalty of Rs 40,000.

The Centre has proposed to charge a penalty of Rs 1,000 if a child inside the vehicle is not protected by the Child Restraint System or safety belt. The state has decided to charge a penalty of Rs 200 in such case.

The state government has decided to charge a penalty of Rs 5,000 only for not giving way to emergency vehicles like ambulance and fire brigade. The Centre has proposed a penalty of Rs 10,000 in this regard.

For driving an uninsured vehicle, the Centre had proposed penalty of Rs 2,000 for the first offence and Rs 4,000 for second and subsequent offences. The state government has reduced that penalty to Rs 1,000 for two-wheelers and three-wheelers and Rs 2,000 for other vehicles in case of the first offence. The penalty amount will be doubled in second and subsequent offences for this category of vehicles.

Cabinet minister and government spokesperson Madan Kaushik said that the amended Motor Vehicle Act will be adopted and implemented with the changes decided in the cabinet meeting. The minister said that the department concerned will issue notification regarding the provision.