Implementation of amended MV rules - high on application of law on motorists, lax on everything else

Implementation of amended MV rules - high on application of law on motorists, lax on everything else

By Debkumar Bhadra

The amended motor vehicle act which came into force on 1^st September has hit motorists in ways harsh than those moon shaming craters in their path. The amendments brought in to make roads safer by reducing the number of accidents, in practice has been turned into a revenue collection exercise with enforcement agencies singularly applying the revised law on motorists, while the real cause of accidents such as faulty design, poor maintenance, awful condition of roads and the erring road owning agencies, finding itself in the implementation shadow, is having a good laugh.

Hefty penalties levied on motorists

On the very third day of implementation of amended MV rules, police turning the heat of enforcement on motorists issued a challan for Rs 23000 on a two wheeler owner accusing him of driving without licence (DL), registration certificate (RC), insurance, violating air pollution standards (PUC) and not wearing helmet. In another case, challan of Rs 24000 was issued on account of violations mentioned in the previous case plus the pillion rider was not wearing helmet. Exceeding both the penalties, a third challan issued to an auto driver, amounted to Rs 32000 for driving without licence, RC and insurance. He has also been accused of violating air pollution standards, dangerous driving, without High Security Registration Plate (HSRP) among other things.

Complete data relating to DL, RC available online

There was a time when DL, RC and other vehicle related information were captured and maintained manually in physical registers. As such those records weren’t accessible from locations beyond the premise of the record keeper. However things have changed drastically since computerization of RTO’s across the country. Every piece of data now a days are captured electronically and stored digitally making the entire data set instantly available through web portal Parivahan Seva and Sarthi hoisted by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), Govt of India (GoI). Also mobile app named mParivahan gives easy access to the central repository of the digitized data of registered vehicles including engine and chassis number, DL, insurance, road tax and other related information.

Apart from web portals Parivahan Seva, Sarthi and mobile app mParivahan, there is another central repository containing data from the centralized as well as state registers namely Vahan 4.0 which have been put in place to provide information on "Anywhere Service" basis to MoRTH, RTO/ DTO/ MLO/ SDM, inter-state check post, police department and other G2C services. In case required, police need to make use of such online resources and satisfy themselves.

Caught in the dichotomy are the motorists

Let me cite the example of Dinesh Madan, a resident of Delhi’s Geeta Colony, who was penalised for driving without a DL, RC, insurance, PUC and not wearing helmet. It is in public domain that Dinesh had all the necessary documents (at his residence) but without giving enough time to produce them, police instantly came to the conclusion that he is driving without DL, without RC, without PUC, without Insurance and imposed a challan of Rs 23000. Making matters further worse, police reportedly took the keys of his scooty since he did not have the money to pay the hefty fine on the spot.

Carrying vehicle papers neither reduce accidents nor improve road safety

One would agree, driving is a skill which once acquired and successfully demonstrated before licensing authority, it remains with the holder, irrespective of whether one is carrying the DL or not. Similar is the case with RC, insurance, road tax. Once issued, these remain valid for the tenure it has been issued and paid for. Place where these are kept, be it home, office or the vehicle, neither affects validity nor applicability of such documents. Further there isn’t any evidence suggesting physical possession of DL, RC, Insurance PUC etc reduce the incidence of accidents or improve road safety.

Failure to produce vehicle papers doesn’t mean they do not exist

Even if someone is not able to produce vehicle papers specifically RC, Insurance, Road Tax, PUC on the spot, it is utterly flawed to conclude such documents don’t exist at all. They exist, provided one agrees to look for them at the right place. Moreover when physical possession of vehicle papers has nothing to do with road safety, there is no point burdening motorists to carry and produce such documents on the spot. In case still required, it is open for the enforcement agencies to fetch it themselves from the online database.

Road safety not limited to traffic related violation alone

Cited here is an incident which is a glowing example of how in the name of road safety, enforcement agencies are putting life of motorists at risk. K Priya, the only child of her parents hailing from Solai Amman Nagar was riding home on her scooty, when a policeman noticing she was driving without a helmet, jumped in front of her scooty to stop her. She applied the brakes to avoid hitting the policeman but lost her balance and fell off her scooty. A lorry which was just behind, ran over her. Had police shown some restraint, she might have got away with the so called violation, but she would have safely reached her home.

It is this irrational conduct, many fold increase in fines and singular application of MV rules on motorists that has generated much heat across the country. The United Front of Transport Associations (UFTA), an umbrella body of 41 goods and passenger transport associations, protesting hefty challan and harassment at the hands of police, noted the “exorbitant increase in traffic fines” had left drivers at the whim and mercy of police. It also noted there is “no scientific approach” to imposing penalties.

If safety of life is the intent, focus must primarily be on reduction of accidents by incorporating safety standards in design, construction, operation and maintenance of roads, provision of safer vehicles and comprehensive response to accidents. The President, Institute of Road Transport Education (IRTE) Rohit Baluja, also an expert on road safety, through a pyramid model very rightly stated enforcement should ideally be a small portion of traffic management sitting at the top of the pyramid. The largest component at the bottom should be legislation and codes of practice, creation of an ideal road environment, training and assessment of drivers and creation of awareness among non-motorised road users. But in practice the amended Act has reversed the pyramid which now stand perilously on enforcement. This needs immediate relook.

As far as provisions in the amended law such as those against drunken driving, over speeding, obstructing emergency vehicles etc are concerned, they have been well received. However exorbitant increase in penalties without improvement in road safety infrastructure and limiting third party liability of insurance has generated widespread dissent. Consequently some state governments’ gave a cold shoulder by keeping the amended law in abeyance. Others going a step further decided to reduce the fines to calm the resentment pouring on the streets.

What seems amiss is that punitive enforcement, however stringent, has never been successful in bringing desired change, leave alone making the roads any safer. Also power to impose huge penalty, at the hands of individuals, is bound to encourage corruption and misuse of power. What is needed is adoption of modern traffic management tools to curb subjectivity and discretion at the point of implementation. Objective and unbiased implementation of rule provisions encompassing every aspect of road safety is the need of the hour.