The Vijay Rupani-led Gujarat government on Tuesday announced a reduction in the penalty amounts for traffic violations, PTI reported. The fines were increased under the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, which came into effect on September 1.

The state government said Rs 1,000 fine for riding bikes without helmet had been reduced to Rs 500, and so was the penalty for driving four-wheelers without a seat-belt. The penalty for driving without a licence has been brought down from Rs 5,000, as suggested by the amendedlaw, to Rs 2,000 for two-wheelers and Rs 3,000 for four-wheelers.

The government clarified that the reduction in penalties did not mean that the traffic police would be lenient towards people who break rules. Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said the new penalties were still up to 10 times higher than the amount in the original law. Rupani said the government had reduced the penalties after detailed deliberations.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has also announced a partial relaxation in traffic violation rules for the next three months, giving vehicle owners time to sort out their documents.

Road safety experts have praised the Centre for bringing in the changes but urged it to implement hefty fines gradually.

The amended law aims to remove corruption, improve road safety and use technology to regulate traffic.

On the first day of its implementation, 39,000 drivers were fined for several offences, including triple-riding, not following pollution norms and tampering with number plates. Over the past week, the Gurugram traffic police fined a two-wheeler rider Rs 23,000 for flouting multiple rules, while an auto driver was fined Rs 47,500 for traffic violations in Bhubaneswar. A truck driver in Odisha’s Sambalpur district was fined Rs 86,500.

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