Ever since the new Motor Vehicles Act came into effect on September 1, there have been countless stories about how people had to pay hefty fines for violating traffic rules. In Gurgaon, an auto driver was given a challan of Rs 32,500 after he jumped a red light signal. In Bhubaneswar, a drunk autorickshaw driver was fined Rs 47,500. In another incident, a Delhi resident commuting to Gurugram was fined Rs 23,000 while the scooter that he was driving cost around Rs 15,000. And, in even more alarming news, a man allegedly set his motorbike on fire after he was issued a fine for violating traffic rules.
These are just a few of the cases that have been reported so far, but after cracking the whip on some of the most common traffic violations, Haryana and Odisha authorities have already collected a whopping Rs 1.41 crore through challans.
Here’s why. Earlier, if you were charged Rs 500 for driving despite disqualification, you’ll now be charged Rs 10,000 for the same. And if you are caught driving without a license, you’ll have to shell out Rs 5,000, which is five times higher than what it used to be.
If a minor is found driving a vehicle, they will have to pay a fine of Rs 10,000, which was earlier just Rs 500. There was no penalty so far for not giving way to an emergency vehicle, but now violators will have to pay a fine of Rs 10,000 (this was much needed).
It appears that the government is in no mood to take it easy on rule breakers. Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari recently said that the hefty penalties are being imposed so that everyone learns to obey traffic laws. “The government does not desire to raise the limits of fine. The issue is that a time should come that no one gets penalised and everyone follows the rules,” he said. “Who will be responsible for accidents caused by those who don’t follow traffic laws,’ he asked.
The new penalties are almost 10 times higher than the old fines and, soon enough, #NewTrafficRules and #TrafficFines started trending on Twitter. Twitter was ‘jammed’ with memes and reactions after these reports of heavy fines started pouring in.
Let’s Take You On A Meme Ride
Even Bhai Can’t Get Away With It!
Remember This Guy?
‘Coz It’s Not Going To Be A ‘Fine’ Ride
The Queen Has Spoken
That Smile Though
When Challan Is More Than Your Salary
Truth Be Told
Driving without Helmet 🤣#NewTrafficRules pic.twitter.com/l94ADCfnEZ
— Sandeep Kumar Shivhare (@SKS_Shivhare) September 3, 2019
Well, Obvio!
It’s not just Delhi, NCR, and Odisha folks facing the wrath, though. The Bengaluru Traffic Police also announced that they will be implementing hefty penalties under the amended Motor Vehicles Act. On Thursday, the traffic police there collected Rs 30.11 lakh as fine for traffic violations.
All we can say is, be careful and follow traffic rules!
Featured Image: India Today
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