With the amended Motor Vehicle Act having taken force from September 1, drivers all over the country are being issued heavy fines for traffic violations.
Here are some instances of drivers being levied a heavy fine:
Truck driver fined in Odisha
A challan of Rs 86,500 was issued to a truck driver in Odisha by Sambalpur Regional Transport Office (RTO). The driver was fined for allowing an unauthorised person to drive (Rs 5,000), driving without a license (Rs 5,000), overloading (Rs 56,000), carrying over dimension projections (Rs 20,000) among others. The matter was settled in Rs 70,000 after the driver produced relevant documents.
Challan twice the cost of auto
A drunk auto-rickshaw driver in Bhubhaneshwar was fined Rs 47,500. Though the new fine for drinking and driving amounted to Rs 10,000, he was further fined Rs 10,000 for violating permit conditions, another Rs 10,000 for not conforming to pollution norms among other penalties. Though admitting to having consumed alcohol, he said he could not pay the penalty and was ready for the vehicle to be seized or for the authorities to send him to jail. The fine levied was double the cost of purchasing the auto.
Rs 32,500 for jumping traffic light
Two days after Haryana implemented the amended Motor Vehicles Act, Gurugram Traffic police issued a challan of Rs 32,500 to an auto-rickshaw driver for jumping a traffic light. The penalty included fines for not carrying relevant documents. Though the 30-year-old driver offered to fetch documents from home which he says was barely 5 minutes away, the police personnel continued to levy the challan.
Fined for not wearing helmet in car
In Aligarh, the traffic police recently fined a city-based businessman Rs 500 for driving a car without wearing a helmet. The businessman was issued an e-challan for not driving without wearing a helmet inside his car. To show his anguish, he reached the traffic police office while wearing a helmet. On further enquiry, the SP later said that the challan was due to ‘feeding error’.
Gave scooter as car
Gurugram Police issued a hefty challan of Rs 23,000 to a resident of Delhi who was caught flouting several traffic rules. He later submitted his Honda Activa to the police, saying that his scooter was cheaper than the fine.
How netizens reacted
The heightened penalties for traffic violations have caused quite a stir on social media. While some find the situation humorous, others say that this was another form of harassment for those who are unable to pay the fines.
Chalan ka kauf to dekho pic.twitter.com/EYld63emGG
— SachanAbhay (@abhay050490) September 7, 2019
If a farmer cn give challan fr tractor of Rs 53000/- fr violarion of traffic rules.Thn he cn easily return KCC loan n no need of subsidy.Govt looted money via traffic rules and force banks to be looted by farmers or corporates?? @PMOIndia @WeBankerss @nsitharaman @nitin_gadkari
— Satendra Singh (@nirvan_sa) September 7, 2019
Law won’t help… change of heart is the need of the hour. Law is obsulete. The new Testament.#MotorVehiclesAct2019 @sardesairajdeep @rahulkanwal @anubhavsinha #India
— frankee chacko (@ChackoFrankee) September 5, 2019
Traffic Challan for Rs. 59000.
Will these things add to existing recession. pic.twitter.com/mNionbcyDb— Equity_Diva (@Equity_Diva) September 5, 2019
Man this is horrible. This type of system has given new way of curruption.
— Kapil Lakra (@KapilLakra14) September 4, 2019
Many people will have to sale their vehicle and people will prefer govt transport or ola/uber services . #NewTrafficRules #dontbuynewvehicle
— Vinit Kabra (@YogiVinitananda) September 4, 2019
This is not good, a poor man/woman cannot pay these kind of charges. These kind of challans will only rise hate among the public. #TrafficFine
— King’s View (@kingsview_s) September 3, 2019
