Driving an uninsured vehicle will cost heavily

Driving an uninsured vehicle will cost heavily

If proposals in the new Road Transport 

and Safety Bill are passed by the parliament, driving an uninsured vehicle 

may cost you heavily. The bill will replace Motors Vehicles Act, 1988.

If a motorcycle owner is caught riding without an insurance policy, the penalty will be Rs 10,000, while owners light motor vehicles and auto rickshaws will have to shell out Rs 25,000. For any car or a truck driver caught driving without an insurance policy, the penalty is Rs 75,000. Currently, there is a fine of Rs 1,000 for all vehicles.

Insurers say that enhanced penalties will increase penetration of motor insurance. Despite third party insurance is mandatory for all vehicles plying on road, as per estimates, nearly 70% of two-wheelers and about third of cars and trucks plying on road are uninsured.

Insurers say that penalties should go beyond fines and include loss of license for repeated violation. Insurers have also suggested that third party liability should be limited to Rs 10 lakh. Currently, liability for motor vehicles is unlimited.

Insurers also want the claim allowed under two jurisdictions –one, where the accident has happened and the other where the vehicle is registered. Also, the claim has to be filed within three years of the accident taking place.

The bill has also proposed setting up of a motor accident fund to help previously injured people and compensate legal representatives of a victim.

Posted by S. NATARAJAN,

SECRETARY,LIAFI.,COIMBATORE DIVISION,SOUTHERN ZONE.

07/10/2014 @ 10.00PM

Thanks to Mr.:Vinay Mohanty