KATHMANDU: With traffic violations on the rise due to low fines, the government is preparing to both increase penalty amounts and expand the scope of enforcement.
The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport is preparing to introduce a new Motor Vehicles and Transport Management Act to raise existing fines.
Joint Secretary Krishna Raj Pantha, who heads the Infrastructure and Transport Division at the ministry, said the move aims to reduce rule violations. “We believe incidents of traffic rule violations are rising due to low fines,” he said. “The new Act is being brought forward specifically to raise fines and discourage such behavior.”
According to Pantha, the new law proposes fines of up to Rs 50,000.
The ministry has already submitted the draft to the cabinet for approval. Once the cabinet approves it, it will be tabled in the federal parliament, Pantha added.
The government last revised fines for traffic rule violations in 2016 by amending the Motor Vehicles and Transport Management Act, 1992.
According to the traffic police, over 100,000 vehicles are penalized across the country each month. “Due to limited manpower and inadequate digital systems, many violators are still out of the scope of punishment,” an official of the Metropolitan Traffic Police Office said.
The government last revised fines for traffic rule violations in 2016 by amending the Motor Vehicles and Transport Management Act, 1992.
The new Bill not only proposes higher fines but also expands the number of offenses traffic police personnel can penalize on the spot from 20 to 34.
Currently, traffic police officers can impose fines ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 5,000. The draft bill proposes to keep penalties ranging from Rs 100 to Rs 50,000 depending on the offense.
Metropolitan Traffic Police Spokesperson Deepak Giri said the increase in fines is long overdue. “In many cases, only stricter penalties bring discipline,” he added.
Stating that even the proposed fines are insufficient, he suggested raising penalties to a minimum of Rs 2,000.
Proposed Fines by Offense
Operating a vehicle without an updated fitness certificate:
Two-wheelers: Rs 5,000
Three-wheelers/small vehicles: Rs 10,000
Medium/large vehicles: Rs 15,000
Speeding: Rs 5,000
Driving in a way that endangers others: Rs 25,000
Overtaking in prohibited zones: Rs 2,000
Not displaying the fare list in public transport: Rs 1,000
Falsely labeling vehicles as meeting emissions/standards: Rs 5,000
Lane discipline violations, sidewalk driving, ignoring signs/signals: Rs 1,000
Driving at night without headlights: Rs 2,000
Transporting goods unsafely in public vehicles: Rs 3,000
Driving in one-way zones: Rs 1,000
Learning drivers not accompanied by an instructor: Rs 3,000
Disobeying traffic police signals: Rs 1,000–2,000
Failing to provide tickets in public vehicles: Rs 2,000
Not switching drivers every 8 hours on long routes: Rs 5,000
Honking in restricted areas: Rs 500
Littering from vehicles: Rs 1,000
Driving stolen vehicles: Rs 50,000
