Fine for not wearing a seat belt while driving

India is the second most populated country in the world with a high density of traffic prevailing on its roads. These extremely congested roads result in a lot of accidents. The question of safety on Indian roads has always lingered around. Driving in India was never easy and has always been considered dangerous. The matter is escalating from bad to worse with an exponential rise in traffic density.

Did You Know: As per the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways the number of fatalities due to road accidents has increased from 1 46 133 lakh in 2015 to 1 47 913 in 2017.

This increasing trend in the number of accidental road deaths calls for the implementation of comprehensive legislation in the country. Thus the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act was passed by the parliamentary bodies Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in 2019. This Act is an amendment made to the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988 and was passed to promote safe driving practices among motor vehicle drivers. As part of the amendment Act rigid fines have been introduced with regard to traffic rule violations.

Driving with no seat belt fine: now and then

One such traffic safety violation is when motorists do not put on their seat belts while driving. Apart from ensuring the safety of others as responsible citizens it is also our duty to ensure our own safety. Seat belts are designed to protect drivers from potential impacts during road accidents and their use is mandatory as per law. Driving without a seat belt now amounts to traffic safety violation for which violators can be fined.

The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019 has increased the penalty for not wearing a seat belt in India. An increased fine is likely to instil fear in drivers and positively reduce the number of deaths in road accidents.

Did you know: In India it is only mandatory for the driver and the co-driver in the front seats to wear seat belts. There is no such law for passengers in the rear seats. More importantly according to a survey conducted nearly 40 percent of people thought wearing seat belts can hamper their smartness! In the same survey it was found that several people didn't even know how to strap on a seat belt properly.

Increase in Penalties as per the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019

Motor vehicle insurance in India

Vehicle insurance is now compulsory by law in India. Not having car or bike insurance can amount to a fine as part of the 2019 Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act. The fine was further increased to ₹2 000 from ₹1 000 as per the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019