Odisha Truck Driver Fined Rs 86,500, Becomes Biggest Violator Of Motor Vehicles Act

The transport department in Odisha's Sambalpur district had last week slapped a truck driver with Rs 86,500 fine, perhaps the highest ever since the Motor Vehicles Amendment Act came into effect on September 1. The driver, identified as Ashok Jadav, was fined on September 3 under various sections of the MV Act, but the picture of the challan went viral on social media platforms on Saturday evening.

Speaking to the media, Sambalpur's regional transport officer Lalit Mohan Behera said Jadav, the biggest violator of the Motor Vehicles Act so far, was penalised under various sections of the amendment such as - allowing an unauthorised person to drive (Rs 5,000), driving without a licence (Rs 5,000), overloading with an excess of 18 tonne (Rs 56,000), carrying over dimension projections (Rs 20,000) and general offence (Rs 500).

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The truck, which belongs to a Nagaland-based company BLA Infrastructure Private Limited, was loaded with a JCB machine, officials said adding that the vehicle was interrupted while on its way to Chhattisgarh from Talcher town of Angul district on Tuesday. While the total amount imposed on Jadav was Rs 86,500, he paid Rs 70,000 only after negotiating with officials for hours.

According to reports, Odisha has collected over Rs 88 lakh fine under the new MV Act in the first four days of its implementation to become the highest grosser state all over India. Till September 4, the state transport department has issued 4,080 challans for violations of various traffic rules and seized 46 vehicles. Last Wednesday, a drunk autorickshaw driver in Bhubaneswar was fined Rs 47,500 for driving without a valid permit, licence, registration and drunken driving of course.

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On July 31, Parliament had passed the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019 that had provisions for stricter and heavier penalties for violations in an attempt to improve road safety. The Bill got President's assent on August 9 and is applicable pan India from September 1. However, some of the states, including Maharashtra, are yet to implement the Act with some of them opposing the decision to penalise traffic rule violators with hefty fines.

The penalty includes Rs 500 for general offence, Rs 5,000 for having invalid driving license, Rs 10,000 for violating permit conditions, Rs 10,000 for drunken driving, Rs 10,000 for violating air/noise pollution, Rs 5,000 for allowing unauthorised person to drive vehicle, Rs 5000 for using vehicle without registration and fitness certificate and Rs 2,000 for plying the vehicle without insurance.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Till September 4, Odisha has grossed over Rs 88 lakh under MV Act.
• Parliament passed the Motor Vehicles Amendment Act on July 31.
• The amended act came into effect on September 1.