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Motor Vehicles Act

About Motor Vehicles Act

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What is Motor Vehicles Act

The Motor Vehicles Act, passed in the year 1988 by the Indian Parliament, regulates almost all aspects of road transport vehicles. It has provisions for traffic regulations, vehicle insurance, registration of motor vehicles, controlling permits and penalties. The Act came into force from 1 July 1989.
 
To make roads safer, the Government of India in consultation with state transport ministers came up with this Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill to makes changes to the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2017, was passed by the Lok Sabha on April 10, 2017.
 
The Rajya Sabha cleared the Bill on July 31, 2019, with 108 votes in favour and 13 against it, with three amendments moved by Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari.
 
The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019 proposes a huge increase in various penalties for traffic violations, protection to Good Samaritans, recall of defective vehicle parts by automobile companies, holding builders accountable for poor quality of infrastructure and making vehicle owners criminally liable for violations committed by juvenile drivers.
 
Below are some of the important proposals in the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill:
 
1) It makes Aadhaar mandatory for getting a driving licence and vehicle registration.
 
2) For deaths in hit-and-run cases, the government will provide a compensation of Rs 2 lakh or more to the victim's family. Currently, the amount is just Rs 25,000.
 
3) In traffic violations by juveniles, the guardians or owner of the vehicle would be held responsible, unless they prove the offence was committed without their knowledge or they tried to prevent it.
 
4) The minimum fine for drunk driving has been increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000.
 
5) The Bill mandates automated fitness testing for vehicles.
 
6) The Bill allows the central government to order for recall of motor vehicles if a defect in the vehicle may cause damage to the environment, or the driver, or other road users
 
7) The Bill provides for a National Road Safety Board, to be created by the central government through a notification. The Board will advise the central and state governments on all aspects of road safety and traffic management, including standards of motor vehicles, registration and licensing of vehicles, standards for road safety, and promotion of new vehicle technology.
 
8) The Bill provides for a scheme for cashless treatment of road accident victims during golden hour.
 

Latest Updates on Motor Vehicles Act

However, FADA had warned that retail sales could be hit in the current quarter, with stricter fuel efficiency norms aimed at reducing carbon emissions set to come into effect from April this year

Updated On: 13 Jan 2023 | 7:03 PM IST

Driving growth is Tata Motors, with 25,795 registrations, against 10,200 last year

Updated On: 01 Nov 2022 | 10:41 AM IST

To ensure seamless movement of personal vehicles across India, 24 states and UTs have rolled out the new Bharat Series for vehicle registration

Updated On: 05 Oct 2022 | 3:03 PM IST

After Cyrus Mistry's death, road minister Nitin Gadkari told Business Standard that the ministry will soon tighten the noose around the travellers who do not wear a rear seat belt

Updated On: 15 Sep 2022 | 2:00 PM IST

Under Rule 138 (3) of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, a person "seated in the front seat or the persons occupying front facing rear seats" is required to wear seat belts

Updated On: 05 Sep 2022 | 4:50 PM IST

The High Court of Karnataka has held that an insurer cannot escape the liability of paying compensation even when the fitness certificate (FC) and permit of a vehicle are not renewed

Updated On: 01 Aug 2022 | 5:26 PM IST

The pre-owned car market has got a boost with the entry of startups like Cars24, Olx Autos, Droom and CarTrade. But there's still a policy vacuum here. Let's understand how it can hit the market

Updated On: 05 Oct 2021 | 8:53 AM IST

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has notified certain changes in the Central Motor Vehicles Rules to facilitate the owner of vehicle for nominating a person in the registration certificate

Updated On: 02 May 2021 | 11:12 AM IST

The new ride-hailing regulations are ill-conceived

Updated On: 29 Nov 2020 | 11:44 PM IST

The Centre on Friday said it intends to formalise the registration process of the vintage motor vehicles, and has sought public comments for proposed rules regarding this.

Updated On: 28 Nov 2020 | 1:13 AM IST

The government has said that non-compliance with these norms would also invite penalties

Updated On: 27 Nov 2020 | 2:37 PM IST

The move is aimed at facilitating movement of the physically challenged

Updated On: 13 Nov 2020 | 8:55 PM IST

During the process of finalisation of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, numerous consultations were held with stakeholders.

Updated On: 01 Oct 2020 | 12:51 AM IST

All you need to know about the new hologram-based stickers that are now mandatory on NCR roads

Updated On: 24 Sep 2020 | 2:08 PM IST

The top court set aside the Madhya Pradesh High Court judgement which had quashed Rule 55A of the Motor Vehicles Rules, 1994 framed by the state government

Updated On: 26 Aug 2020 | 10:23 PM IST

The notification issued also said that riding without a helmet will draw a thousand rupee fine as well

Updated On: 31 Jul 2020 | 4:25 PM IST

The Road Transport and Highways Ministry has issued a notification in this regard

Updated On: 21 Jun 2020 | 12:28 AM IST

The Arvind Kejriwal led government's move will allow the traffic police cops to issue spot fines on violation of the norms

Updated On: 16 Mar 2020 | 7:29 AM IST

The police establishment retains the same classist hierarchical, status-oriented structure it has always had

Updated On: 07 Mar 2020 | 10:26 PM IST

The new Act with stricter provisions has come into force in the country from September 1, 2019

Updated On: 06 Jan 2020 | 7:55 PM IST