Frequently Asked Questions

What documents should a driver carry when driving?

 (i)Driving license

 (ii)Registration certificate

 (iii)Insurance Certificate

 (iv)Emission Test Certificate(pollution under control)

 (v)Taxation Certificate (in case of transport vehicles)

 (vi)Fitness Certificate & Permit (in case of transport vehicles)

Are DigiLocker platform or the mParivahan mobile app valid for traffic police?

Documents available in the 'electronic form' in the DigiLocker platform or the mParivahan mobile app as valid under the Motor Vehicles Act 1988 and be treated at par with the certificates issued by the transport authorities but in case of any violation committed by driver/rider or if vehicle seized original (hard copy) DL is required.

What is the rule regarding seat belts? Is it binding using seat belts while driving?

The driver and the person seated in the front seat must wear the seat belts while the vehicle is in motion otherwise punishable with a fine of 1000 rupees U/S 194(B)1. Whoever drives a motor vehicle or causes or allows a motor vehicle to be driven with a child who, not having attained the age of fourteen years, is not secured by a safety belt or a child restraint system shall be punishable with a fine of 200 rupees. U/S 194(B)2 (w.e.f 01 Nov 2019)

What is the rule for the use of a mobile phone?
As per section 184(C) M.V.Act, no driver while driving or riding a motor vehicle (including two-wheelers) use of handheld communications devices.Rs.1000 fine for first offense, Rs.5000 for a second or subsequent offense

Can other occupants of the motor vehicle use the mobile phone?
Yes. Other than driver, occupants of the motor vehicle can use mobile phone

If I am a doctor; can I use my mobile phone in an emergency while driving?
No. Exemption is not given to anyone in the M.V Act or Rules regarding this. You can stop the vehicle and then take the call

What are the duties of a driver when his vehicle is involved in an accident resulting in death/bodily injury/damage to property?
The duties are as under: Arrange for medical help Inform the police · In case the vehicle is carrying dangerous goods, keep everyone away, avoid smoking in the vicinity and take emergency action as displayed on the vehicle.

Under what conditions is the towing of a vehicle allowed?
Vehicle abandoned or left unattended or parked in a parking restricted zone or Parked in a way causing inconvenience to other road users can be towed away. As per Section 15 of Rules of Road Regulation, 1989, A driver of a motor vehicle shall not park his vehicle:—

 (i) At or near a road crossing, a bend, top of a hill or a humpbacked bridge;

 (ii) On a foot-path;

 (iii) Near a traffic light or pedestrian crossing;

 (iv) in a main road or one carrying fast traffic;

 (v) Opposite another parked vehicle or as obstruction to other vehicle;

 (vi) Alongside another parked vehicle;

 (vii) On roads or at places or roads where there is a continuous white line with or without a broken line;

 (viii) Near a bus stop, school or hospital entrance or blocking a traffic sign or entrance to a premises or a fire hydrant;

 (ix) On the wrong side of the road;

 (x) Where parking is prohibited;

 (xi) Away from the edge of the footpath.

 

What is the towing charge of a vehicle?

The towing charges for two wheeler is Rs. 750/- and for the four wheeler it is Rs. 900/-.

 

What is the punishment for drunken driving/driving under the influence of any drug?

If a driver is caught driving a vehicle with alcohol in his blood exceeding 30 mg per 100 ml or he is under the influence of a drug to such an extent that he is incapable of exercising proper control over the vehicle, the following will be the punishments. First Offence: Imprisonment up to 6 months or fine up to Rs 10,000 or both Subsequent Offence: Imprisonment up to 2 years or fine up to Rs 15,000 or both

When can the authorities detain a vehicle?

Authorities can detain a vehicle in the following circumstances:

Vehicle being driven by an individual without a valid driving license

Vehicle being driven without registration

Transport vehicle being driven without Permit

Vehicle being driven without payment of Tax

What are the consequences for driving without a license?
You will be fined Rs.2500-U/S-3/181 MV. Act but not compoundable, subject to Hon. court

Is wearing helmet compulsory for Scooter and Motorcycle riders?
Yes. Wearing helmet is compulsory. Violators will be charged U/S-129/194(D) of M.V.Act-1988 for which fine is Rs.1000 & D.L will suspended for three months

What are consequences of driving under the influence of liquor?

If you are caught driving under the influence of liquor you will be issued a police notice for the appearance in the Court. There is no provision of paying the fine on the spot. Moreover, you will not be allowed to continue driving unless you have a partner who is not under the influence of liquor and has a valid driving license.
or
You will be advised to hire a cab leaving the vehicle in the police station under acknowledgment till you appear in the court and pay the fine. Your driving license will also be kept with the police till the disposal of the case. You are reminded that on repeat offense of driving under the influence of liquor, there is a provision for enhanced penalty and imprisonment. If you commit a fatal accident under the influence of liquor you could be booked under culpable homicide not amounting to murder which is a non-bailable offense.

What is the spot fine for drunken driving?
There is no spot fine for drunken driving. In each of the drunken driving case, police notice is issued asking the person to appear before the court. Only the court is empowered to impose the fine.

What happens if I don’t appear in the court?
If you fail to appear in court, warrant will be issued from the court. This may lead to arrest and stiffer penalties.

After being booked for drunken driving can I continue to drive myself?

No. you will have to arrange for an alternate driver who is not drunk or take a cab leaving the vehicle in the police station which will be released after you have settled the case in the court.

What about the pollution check?

It is mandatory to carry an Emission Test Certificate(pollution under control)

U/S-190(2) M.VAct. Rs.2500 fine for first offense, Rs.5000 for a second or subsequent offense (w.e.f 01 Nov 2019)

 Why have I received a violation ticket for the vehicle I have already sold?

Notices are generated by computers picking up addresses from transport department records. The very fact you have received a notice means that vehicle continues to be on your name in the records even though you might have sold it. Selling the vehicle without insisting on a change of ownership is a very dangerous practice. Signing a delivery note is no guarantee of a change of ownership. You have to insist on the buyer registering the vehicle in his name, failing which you have to get it done yourself at RTO. Unless you do so, you will continue to receive violation notices. Still worse can happen if the vehicle is involved in a fatal accident or terrorist activity. You will have to suffer the consequences. 

My vehicle got damaged in an accident. Police did not help me in getting compensation!

Insurance companies and not the police can get you the damages. Police will only prosecute the accused of criminal negligence in the court of law.

I crossed the stop line seeing green signals. But traffic in front of me was not moving and I got penalized.

Even if the signal is green you should not enter the junction unless the tail of the traffic in front of you is moving. Otherwise, you will create gridlock and block cross-traffic too.

I crossed the stop line before the signal turning red, while it was still yellow. But I could not clear the junction due to congestion ahead. Why was I fined for signal jumping?

Yellow signal is provided only for those vehicles which have already crossed the stop line to clear the junction. You are not expected to enter the junction when the green light has already changed to yellow.

I don’t see speed limit boards in the city?
As per the notification, the speed limit in the entire city corporation limit is 50 kmph for LMV and 40 kmph for HMV. It is not possible to put boards all over in the city. Only where we have lower permissible speed like flyovers/narrow stretches/bends or higher permissible limits these boards are put. This is the practice world over.

I got fined for the parking violation. But the board was at least 20 meter away from where I parked?

It is not possible to put one board for each vehicle. “No parking” is notified by gazette notifications and then boards are erected. Each board indicates that roughly 50 m each side of boards is no-parking area. That is why boards are put 100 m apart.

Why do traffic police switch off the lights during peak hours?
Actually it is not a good practice but is in-evitable due to inadequate capacity of junctions. There is a situation when the road is not able to take the entire volume of traffic and tail of traffic ahead does not get cleared even till the next green phase. Now if the lights are not switched off, vehicles will block the junction and make it impossible for even cross-traffic to move thus creating a grid-lock. It is a lose-lose situation for all. At this juncture, policemen take over the signal and regulate it according to clearance and relative volume. However, this practice is largely reduced and will disappear soon due to the increased capacity of roads and junctions. Switching off also becomes inevitable during acts of nature like water logging, cracks in the road and man-made situations like strikes, rasta-rokho, and VIP movement, when one or more roads become unavailable for traffic. In all such situations, manual operations are resorted to. This practice is, however not encouraged.

Among traffic officers, who are authorized to give a spot fine notice?

Traffic officers of and above the rank of assistant sub-inspector are authorized to give away traffic violation challans or notices, which are for spot fines. Officers of the rank of ASI (one-star), sub-inspector (two-star), inspector (three-star) are authorized to collect spot fines. Any officer below the rank of ASI, which comprises constables and head constables, can only note down the nature of the violation and vehicle number, and submit the information to the traffic office. Notices will then be issued from the centre. The violator will have to pay the fine at Traffic Office Dehradun, Traffic constables are not authorized to collect money as they do not carry receipt books. The motorist may lodge a complaint if any officer below the rank of ASI collects money from him.

Don’t want to pay spot fine. What is the other option?

If a violation refuses or does not want to pay a spot fine, he would be required to surrender his original driving license - for which the officer concerned would give an acknowledgment. He can walk into the police station within a week to pay the fine and get the DL back or the case will go to court, and the offender will have to go by the decision taken by it. In the absence of an original driving license, the person will have to leave the vehicle with the police. If the motorist fails to appear in court, a warrant will be issued and he will have to face arrest or stiffer penalties 

When can a motorist be charged with drunk driving? What is the procedure for paying the fine?

A motorist caught driving under the influence of liquor beyond the permissible limit is liable to be charged with the offense of drunken driving. Legally permissible limit is 30mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. Traffic police use state of art Alco-meters (breath analyzers) accepted worldwide to measure the level of alcohol in the blood. This is a scientifically and legally accepted method all over the world. Our instruments are calibrated once in three months with a probable error of +(-) 5%. Therefore, we do not penalize anyone below 40mg per 100ml of blood even though the legal limit is only 30. Anyone driving with an alcohol level below a reading of 40 is not, repeat not, liable for prosecution.
However, everyone need not be subjected to measurement. Merely, by bringing the instruments close to mouth and asking the name of the person indicates a preliminary result whether the person has consumed alcohol are not. If the result is negative, no measurement is required and the person is allowed to go. If the result is positive, measurement is done using the disposable straw and reading printed. Subsequently, the generated police notice is given to the motorists. No one can be prosecuted without a computerized print out indicating reading and a print out of mentioning that reading.
However, there is no spot for drunk driving. No police officer is allowed to collect spot fines for this offense. The person will be given a notice, will be sent to the court and the offender will have to pay a fine there. The punishment for drunk driving is six months imprisonment or payment of a fine up to Rs.10,000/- or both. If the offender is caught committing the offense a second time, he will have to face imprisonment of two years or a fine up to Rs.15,000 or both. After being issued a notice, the motorist will not be allowed to drive. He will have to leave his vehicle behind and take a cab home or call a friend or relative to drive him home. In case he wants to take the vehicle using another person who is not drunk but is free to do so after leaving his original driving license and RC book under acknowledgment with the police officer. Very often, motorists try to avoid legal proceedings by bribing the police officers concerned. However, the best thing to do in such circumstances is to follow the proper procedures and not resort to corruption. Moreover, if a person continues to drive under the influence of alcohol and gets involved in a fatal accident, he will be booked for culpable homicide – which is a non-bailable offense

How do I know how much can I drink to remain within the permissible limit?

There is no hard and fast rule as it depends on the body constitution, gender, whether; liquor is taken on an empty stomach or with the food or the duration over which liquor the consumed. Generally, one bottle of beer / 30ml Whisky / Rum will keep the person below the permissible limit of 30 units. However, our metabolism burns about 10 units in an hour. And therefore, larger quantity consumed over a longer duration will still keep the person within permissible limits. However, these measures are indicative in nature.

How do I know that the straw is not being re-used?

We have strict instructions to use disposable straw. You can insist on the fresh straw to be taken out in front of you and destroy the straw after you have used it. One is also free to carry his own straw.

When people are involved in an accident or are witness to one, what should they do?

f a motorist has caused the accident, he should arrange for medical aid and inform the police immediately. If a person is a witness to an accident, he should help the victim and note down the details of the accused person before informing the police. Witnesses should not torch vehicles or indulge in anti-social activities. The public should be pro-active, not destructive

Does traffic police have any targets for collection of fine?
Ideally, our target for fine collection should be zero since the ultimate objective is to see that no one violates the traffic rules. We are neither a revenue earning department nor the amount collected has any correlation to the departmental budget. Fine collected goes to the general revenue of the government. The fact that strict enforcement resulted in more than Rs.02 crore in 2019 is not a matter of pride for the department but a matter of shame and concern for all of us. We will be happy with the fine collection going down if people were to follow rules. Unfortunately, traffic violations are rampant especially when police men are not present.

Why do traffic police catch vehicles for over-speeding even when the road is good and empty? Why do they put a speed limit?
Roads are not only for motorists but for all other road users including pedestrians who have to co-exist. The empty road is not a license to speed without limit because the driver cannot always anticipate the sudden entry of some other road users. Roads are designed for a particular speed from a safety point of view. Driving responsibly is an essential part of defensive driving which should take into account mistakes likely to be committed by other road users. Most of our roads pass through residential and commercial areas where sudden intrusions cannot be ruled out. Speed limits are essential for defensive driving.

Why can’t signals clear entire traffic in one cycle?

World over, time cycle (completing all 4 directions) does not exceed 180 sec. Due to excessive vehicle density, we have time cycles upto 200 sec. About 25 junctions in city have time cycles even up to 250 sec. This is not a healthy trend and our aim is to bring down upper limit to 200 sec. If time cycle is extended unlimited to clear complete traffic then it causes irritability to the other directions. If entire piled up traffic does not clear in one go, it is actually a problem of capacity of junction i.e. inadequacy of infrastructure and not the signalling system

When stopped for a traffic violation, why do traffic cops move ignition key?

It is not a good practice and we do not approve of it. However, let us not forget that large number of violators try to run away when detained by traffic police; some even endangering life of policemen while trying to run over them. You are certainly not the one like them but many others are.

A driver hit and drove away damaging my vehicle. How do I claim insurance?

When your vehicle is damaged in a hit and run accident, the damage is generally covered under the collision section of your car insurance policy. Collision coverage is optional, and some drivers choose to opt-out of this coverage. If you don't have collision coverage, you will have to pay to repair the damage yourself
In case you want other's insurance to pay for the repairs, get FIR and after the case is charge-sheeted, file a claim. But in this case the number of the other vehicle should be known.

Is Hit and Run a crime in India?

 Sections 279,304A and 338 of IPC are imposed on the victims of hit-and-run incidents. Any person who drives vehicles rashly on the public road can be guilty of making an offense under Section 279. ... 304A is a non-bailable offense, and an individual can be convicted by lifetime imprisonment 

How do I settle a hit and run case?

 If you are a victim of a hit and run accident, it is necessary that you inform the nearest police station of the incident. You should get an FIR filed, as this will add weightage to your car insurance claim.

How long does it take to settle a hit and run case?

The length of time it takes to get a case resolved depends on many factors. If your case is capable of resolution without the need for a lawsuit, it should settle within 90 days of completion of your medical care. If it requires a lawsuit, it could take up to two years before your trial.

How is the Fund administered?

Contributions to the Fund are made by the General Insurance Corporation according to an agreed formula and the latter nominates one of its offices or an insurance company in every district for settlement of claims.

Who will get compensation under the Scheme?

In case of claims arising out of death of an accident victim, payment is made to the legal representatives of the deceased (as decided by the Claims Enquiry Officer). In the case of claims arising out of grievous hurt, payment is made to the person injured.

What is the procedure for applying for compensation?

As a hit and run victim or a legal representative of his, submit an application seeking compensation under this scheme in Form I along with a duly filled-in discharge receipt in Form II.

Also enclose an undertaking in Form Vto the Claims Enquiry Officer of the Sub-Division or Taluka in which the accident takes place. This undertaking specifies that the amount of compensation received under the Scheme will be refunded to the insurer if the injured victim or the legal representative of the deceased receives any other compensation in lieu of this amount, or under any other existing provision by law

Ensure that the application is made within six months from the date of the accident.

An application made after six months, but before 12 months from the date, may be accepted by the Claims Enquiry Officer if he is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for the delay. If, however, the Officer is not convinced and the application is rejected, the reasons for non-acceptance will be communicated to the you.

When does compensation reach the applicant?

On receipt of all required reports from the Claims Enquiry Officer, the Claims Settlement Commissioner sanctions the claim, as far as possible, within a period of fifteen days from the date of receipt of such report. He must then communicate the sanction order along with other required documents from his end to the nominated officer of the insurance company.

The nominated office of the insurer then makes the payment to the claimant and dispatches a cheque/demand draft for the amount through registered post AD.

The payment is made usually within 15 days from the date of receipt of the sanction order from the Claims Settlement Commissioner; wherever there is a delay, reasons must be explained to the Claims Settlement Commissioner 

For more details please click here- SOLATIUM SCHEME 1989

 

What is Good Samaritan?

A Good Samaritan is a person who, in good faith, without expectation of payment or reward and without any duty of care or special relationship, voluntarily comes forward to administer immediate assistance or emergency care to a person injured in an accident, or crash, or emergency medical condition, or emergency situation.

Why the need for Good Samaritan law?

India is an unfortunate victim of a large number of road crash fatalities. Three out of four people in the country are hesitant to help injured accident victims on roads due to fear of police harassment, detention at hospitals, and prolonged legal formalities. Even if someone wants to help, these factors stop them from doing so

What is Good Samaritan Law?

The Good Samaritan Law allows a person, without expectation of payment or reward and without any duty of care or special relationship, voluntarily come forward to administer immediate assistance or emergency care to a person injured in an accident, or crash, or emergency medical condition. Good Samaritan Law protects Good Samaritans from harassment on the actions being taken by them to save the life of the road accident victims.

For more detail please click here- directions with regard to the protection of Good Samaritans