Gadkari defends MV Act, says stringent rules needed as people not obeying traffic laws

New Delhi [India], Sept 20 (ANI): Emphasising citizens to adhere to the amended new Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act 2019, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari defended the law saying that stringent rules were "much needed" as the people were not following the traffic rules seriously.

Saying that there was neither fear nor respect among people towards adhering to the traffic rules, Gadkari said, "Stringent rules were much needed as people had taken traffic laws very lightly and there was neither fear nor respect for the law."

Gadkari, who launched Transport Corporation of India Ltd's (TCI) 'Safe Safar awareness' on Thursday, said, "I am surprised that people are protesting against a law (Motor Vehicle Act) that has been created in the national interest. If one obeys the traffic rules, one should not have to worry about heavy fines."

Speaking about the importance of awareness campaign, the Union Minister said that the idea is to reduce accidents and save as many lives by having more awareness campaigns. "It is time that people must take all cautions while travelling on the road as we face the highest road accidents/deaths," he asserted.

He also flagged off a specially-designed truck which will move around the country to spread awareness about road safety.

The Delhi Transport Union called for a one-day strike on Thursday against the hefty fines imposed for violating traffic rules under the newly amended Motor Vehicles (MV) Act 2019.

Last month, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had notified the provisions of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, which was implemented in several states from September 1.

The law enforces heavy fines and stricter penalties for traffic violations. There have been several instances where people have coughed up hefty fines for traffic violations in many parts of the country.