10 things to keep in mind if you own a vehicle in India
Legal jargon has been avoided at every possibility for your better understanding.
Do you own a bike, a car, or even a three-wheeler? If not then, do your parents, friends, or somebody you know own such vehicles? If your answer is still no then you can move on from this article but if your answer is yes then here are 10 things you should know before you hop in one of those vehicles.
1. DIGILOCKER
DigiLocker is a flagship program of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), which is part of the Digital India Corporation (DIC).
With this app, you can store all your important documents and I.D cards including your driving license, RC, and various other documents related to your vehicle. Your issued documents in DigiLocker are legally at par with the originals. According to a report, you can show the documents through this app when asked by police or traffic officials to avoid heavy penalties.
Imagine the hassle that will be drastically reduced with this awesome initiative of the government.
2. CANNOT BE FINED TWICE
According to the Automotive (Amendment) Bill, 2016 If you have already paid the fine for a crime (like attending a call while driving or riding without a helmet or failure to produce documents or any other reason whatsoever) then you will not be asked to pay the fine again for the same reason on the same day.
3. NO CALLS WHILE DRIVING
If you are found using a device or attending a phone call while driving then you’re bound to be stopped and fined by the traffic/police officer. It does not matter whether you were using your hands-free device to attend calls or not. Talking on the phone is more distracting than listening to music over the sound system of your car.
4. YOUR KEYS ARE THERE TO STAY
According to the law, a traffic cop cannot take the key from a car or motorbike, it is unlawful. You have every legal authority to file a complaint against the respective officer.
5. VICTIMS OF ROAD ACCIDENTS RECEIVE COMPENSATION
During “golden hour” the central government plans to implement a cashless treatment scheme for road accident victims. According to the bill, “golden hour” is the time period following a traumatic injury, lasting up to one hour, during which quick medical treatment has the greatest chance of saving the life of the victim.
6. WHAT ABOUT ALCOHOL?
According to Motor Vehicle Act 1988, section -185, 202, if your blood contains more than 30 ml of alcohol for every 100 ml of blood, the police officer can arrest you without a warrant. In addition to all this, the fine for drunk driving in our country is ₹10,000.
7. WEAR A HELMET BUT WHAT ABOUT SIKHS?
Wearing a helmet is a must for all the citizens and a two-wheeler can contain a maximum of only two people including the pillion rider. However, Sikhs wearing a turban are exempted from this rule as they cannot wear a helmet due to its unfeasibility.
8. PROTECTION OF GOOD SAMARITANS
A Good Samaritan means an individual who with good intention and without expecting any reward helps the victim of an accident involving a motor vehicle by transporting the victim to the hospital. No police officer or other individual has the authority to compel a good samaritan to provide his or her name, identification, address, or any other personal information. He/she has full discretion in whether to disclose such details or not.
Most importantly the good samaritan will not be liable if the victim he/she was transporting to the hospital, dies or gets injured on the way or in the hospital or due to his/her negligence.
9. FIRETRUCK AND AMBULANCE
This goes without saying that you should give way to the ambulance and firetruck as their emergency is of paramount importance. The emergency situation includes patients clinging to life on the brink of death or people trapped inside a building engulfed in smoke.
According to a news report, drivers who do not give way to emergency vehicles are liable to pay a hefty fine of ₹10,000.
10. REVISED PENALTIES
The fine for driving without a legitimate license was ₹500, but now it has increased to ₹5,000. Similarly, in the case of drunken driving, the penalty increased from ₹2000 to ₹10,000. Many such drastic changes in the penalties of other offenses have also taken place.
According to the Road Accident 2019 report, 151,113 people lost their lives in 449,002 road accidents in India in 2019, an average of 414 per day or 17 every hour.
Ignorance of the law is no excuse. You either show a licence or you don’t. Adhere to the road regulations and traffic rules or pay the price. Hefty penalties may burden your hectic schedule with unwanted delays and worries. A little vigilance on your part can go a long way. The Government of India has increased and added a number of penalties in THE MOTOR VEHICLES (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2019, and will keep on implementing new and stringent laws in the future to curb the number of road accidents and also to ensure that people follow the safety rules and regulations.
