Breaking the law in any sense is bound to attract punishment.
The severity of this punishment depends upon the nature of the committed offence.
With regards to breaking traffic rules, citizens can be asked to pay a fine, serve a jail term or
face disqualification in the form of a ban from driving any vehicle.
The fine amount is updated every few years to curb the violation of rules. Breaking traffic rules
in India can lead to accidents and even death in severe cases. Let’s take a look at the updated
list of penalties for traffic violations in India.
Traffic rules in India are in accordance with The New Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019. Change in the traffic police fine amount is clearly mentioned in the updated act. New traffic rules are stringent with a steep increase in penalties as well as jail terms or imprisonment for traffic violations.
If you’re caught driving without insurance, the existing penalty of Rs.1,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 3 months has been increased to Rs.2,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 3 months for the first-time offence and Rs.4,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 3 months for the second-time offence
| # | Offence | Old Penalty | New Penalty (From September 2019) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | General | First-Time Offence: Rs.100 Second-Time Offence: Rs.300 |
First-Time Offence: Rs.500 Second-Time Offence: Rs.1,500 |
| 2 | Violation of Road Rules | Nil | Rs.500 to Rs.1,000 |
| 3 | Ticket less Travel | First-Time Offence: Rs.100 Second-Time Offence: Rs.300 |
First-Time Offence: Rs.500 Second-Time Offence: Rs.1,500 |
| 4 | Disobeying orders from the Authorities and Refusing to Share Information | Rs.500 | Rs.2,000 |
| 5 | Driving an Unauthorized Vehicle without License | Rs.1,000 | Rs.5,000 |
| 6 | Driving Without License | Rs.500 | Rs.5,000 |
| 7 | Driving Regardless of Disqualification | Rs.500 | Rs.10,000 |
| 8 | Over-Speeding | Rs.400 | Light Motor Vehicle: Rs.1,000 to Rs.2,000 Medium Passenger or Goods Vehicle: Rs.2,000 to Rs.4,000 and impounding of DL for the Subsequent or Second-Time Offence. |
| 9 | Dangerous / Rash Driving | Nil | First-Time Offence: Imprisonment of 6 Months to 1 Year and/or Fine of Rs.1,000 to Rs.5,000 Second-Time Offence: Imprisonment of up to 2 years and/or Fine up to Rs.10,000. |
| 10 | Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Intoxicating Substance | Rs.2,000 | First-Time Offence: Rs.10,000 and/or Imprisonment of up to 6 months. Second-Time Offence: Rs.15,000 and/or Imprisonment of up to 2 years. |
| 11 | Oversized Vehicles | Nil | Rs.5,000 |
| 12 | Driving When Mentally/Physically Unfit | First-Time Offence: Rs.200 Second-Time Offence:Rs.500 | First-Time Offence: Rs.1,000 Second-Time Offence: Rs.2,000 |
| 13 | Accident Related Offences | Nil | First-Time Offence: Rs.5,000 and/or Imprisonment of up to 6 months. Second-Time Offence: Rs,10,000 and/or Imprisonment of up to 1 Year. |
| 14 | Driving Uninsured Vehicle (without Insurance) | Rs.1,000 and/or Imprisonment of up to 3 months. | First-Time Offence: Rs.2,000 and/or Imprisonment of up to 3 months. Second-Time Offence: Rs.4,000 and/or Imprisonment of up to 3 months. |
| 15 | Racing and Speeding | Rs.500 | First-Time Offence: Rs.5,000 and/or Imprisonment of up to 3 months. Second-Time Offence: Rs.10,000 and/or Imprisonment of up to 1 year. |
| 16 | Vehicle Without Permit | Up to Rs.5,000 | Rs.10,000 and/or Imprisonment of up to 6 months. |
| 17 | Aggregators (Violations of Licensing Conditions) | Nil | Rs.25,000 to Rs.1 lakh |
| 18 | Overloading | Rs.2,000 and Rs.1,000 per extra tonne | Rs.20,000 and Rs.2,000 per extra tonne |
| 19 | Overloading of Passengers | Nil | Rs.1,000 per extra passenger |
| 20 | Not Wearing Seatbelt | Rs.100 | Rs.1,000 |
| 21 | Overloading of Two-Wheelers | Rs.100 | Rs.2,000 and Disqualification of License for 3 months |
| 23 | Not Wearing Helmet | Rs.100 | Rs.1,000 and Disqualification of License for 3 months |
| 23 | Not Providing Way for Emergency Vehicles | Nil | Rs.10,000 and/or Imprisonment of 6 months |
| 24 | Offences by Juveniles | Nil | Rs.25,000 with Imprisonment of 3 years for which the Guardian / Owner shall be deemed to be guilty. |
| 25 | Power of Officers to Impound Documents | Nil | Suspension of DL under Section 183, 184, 185, 189, 190, 194C, 194D, 194E |
| 26 | Offences Committed by Enforcing Officers | Nil | Double the Penalty under Relevant Section |
The fine for driving with a DL has been increased by 10 times from the old penalty of Rs.500 to now Rs.5,000.
Through the amendment of the New MV Act 2019, the penalty has been increased from Rs.1,000
and/or imprisonment of up to 3 months to Rs.2,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 3 months for the
first-time offence and Rs.4,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 3 months for the second-time offence.
The penalty for driving despite disqualification has been hiked from Rs.500 to Rs.10,000 emphasising on repeated offence.
If you’re caught for drink and drive, get ready to pay a hefty fine of Rs.10,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 6 months for the first-time offence and if you’re caught for the second-time for the same offence, the fine is Rs.15,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 2 years.
The traffic fine for riding a two-wheeler without wearing a helmet is Rs.1,000, up from old penalty of Rs.100.
The penalty has been increased from Rs.500 to Rs.5,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 3 months for the first-time offence, while for the second-time offence, the fine is Rs.10,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 1 year.
While there was no penalty for this type of offence, the New MV (Amendment) Act, 2019 imposes a fine of Rs.25,000 with imprisonment of 3 years for which the owner or the guardian shall be deemed guilty.
While there was no penalty for this offence, the new fine is double the penalty under the relevant section.
To get away from the fine and penalties arising due to breaking traffic rules in India, people try to bribe police officials. To some extent, people even manage to get away by paying a bribe in the form of cash. However, bribing an official is a crime in itself and should not be committed. The government is taking certain measures to decrease and eventually eliminate this atrocious crime. One of such measures is the introduction of ‘e-challan‘. This system works similar to you purchasing something and using your debit or credit card to pay the money and receiving a receipt. This way, cash does not come into the picture and the funds are transferred directly to the government. In this manner, they can also keep a track of offences and the people involved.