With Gurgaon slowly rising as the corporate capital of north India, the city is bustling with traffic every day. With millions of vehicles moving around, traffic violations are also on the rise keeping both cops and cameras working round the clock. As per recent data, Gurgaon Traffic police issued over 26 lakh challans from January to December 2024 collecting over 15.7 crores in fines with another 34 crores to be recovered through court appearances and online payments. A figure so huge clearly shows a substantial rise in traffic violations, a big cause for which is a lack of awareness and ignorance of the law. From wrong side driving to failure to give way to emergency vehicles, there are numerous traffic fines and rules that you must be vigilant of for a safer drive. So in this article, we have compiled a list of crucial traffic rules, challans and fines so that you know what not to do when driving in and around Gurgaon.
Gurgaon Traffic Rules and Fines: Governing Law
The Motor Vehicle Act 1988 is the exhaustive law that regulates almost every aspect of road transport including rules, fines and penalties for traffic violations. The Motor Vehicle Act, being a central legislation, applies equally to all states in India including Gurgaon and the rest of Haryana. In 2019, however, the Motor Vehicle Act was amended by the central government to further strengthen the enforcement of the act as well as to enhance the penalties for almost every traffic violation. Traffic regulations, fines, rules, challans and penalties under the Motor Vehicle Act can be categorised into several heads based on offences related to vehicle maintenance, driving, documentation etc.
Traffic Violations Related to Driving
Much like other major towns and cities, Gurgaon also uses a blend of both digital and manual traffic violation detection systems including AI-infused traffic monitoring cameras, Over Speed Violation Detection (OSVD) Cameras, and the good old policing system. With a rise in traffic challans each year, traffic violations are strictly dealt with and penalised in Gurgaon. Therefore it is important to know the list of common driving-related violations that are commonly penalised in Gurgaon as per the Motor Vehicle Act.
Overspeeding
Defined under Section 183 of the Motor Vehicle Act, driving or causing a motor vehicle to be driving at speeds exceeding the requisite speed limit is an act of overspeeding which is punished with:
- A fine of Rs. 1,000 to 2,000 in the case of Light Motor Vehicles for the first offence
- A fine of Rs. 2,000 to 4,000 in the case of Medium/Heavy Goods Vehicle or Medium/Heavy Passenger Vehicle for the first offence
- Impounding of License for the second and every subsequent offence
- In addition to the penalty and fine, the offender may also be liable to render community service which was a step added in 2019 to instill a sense of community responsibility in offenders.
Dangerous Driving
Governed under Section 184 of the Motor Vehicle Act, driving a motor vehicle at high speed or in any manner that is dangerous to the public including the offence of red-light jumping, use of mobile while driving, stop-sign traffic violation, unlawful overtake, wrong side driving will constitute an offence of dangerous driving which is punished with:
- Imprisonment for a term not less than 6 months but which may extend to 1 year (for the first offence) or
- With a fine not less than Rs. 1,000 but which may extend to Rs. 5,000 (for the first offence) or
- With Both (for the first offence)
- Imprisonment that may extend to 2 years (for the second/subsequent offence within 3 years of the first offence) or
- With a fine that may extend to Rs. 10,000 (for the second/subsequent offence within 3 years of the first offence) or
- With Both (for the second/subsequent offence within 3 years of the first offence)
- In addition to the penalty and fine, the offender may also be liable to render community service.
With several small and big lanes surrounding Gurgaon, wrong-lane driving became a major cause of concern for Gurgaon Traffic Police which issued about 1.46 lakh challans for wrong-lane driving alone collecting over 10.3 crores in fines from January to November last year. Seeing the gravity of the situation, traffic police in Gurgaon dealt with wrong-late driving by collecting Rs. 5,000 under Dangerous Driving in addition to another 500 for violation of traffic rules under section 177A.
Drunk Driving
Governed under Section 185 of the Motor Vehicle Act, driving under the influence of Alcohol and/or Drugs constitutes the offence of Drunk Driving which is a strict offence that entails a penalty of:
- Imprisonment of up to 6 months (for the first offence) or
- With a fine of Rs. 10,000 (for the first offence) or
- With Both (for the first offence)
- Imprisonment of up to 2 Years (f(for the second/subsequent offence) or
- With a fine of Rs. 10,000 ((for the second/subsequent offence) or
- With Both (for the second/subsequent offence)
Since the corporate capital of north India is home to a plethora of lounges, clubs, pubs, hotels and restaurants that thrive especially during the weekend, drinking and driving constitute one of the most common challenges for on-field traffic personnel and a big cause of accidents and mishaps. Therefore it is always advised to either book a cab or have a chauffeur along every time you plan to go on an outing that involves alcohol.
Driving in Excess of Permissible Weight Limit
Goverened under Section 194 of the Motor Vehicle Act, driving a motor vehicle or causing it to be driven with weight exceeding the permissible weight limit constitutes the offence of driving over the permissible weight limit which is punished with:
- A fine of Rs. 20,000 along with
- A fine of Rs. 2,000 per tonne of excess load
With Gurgaon having major roads connecting it to the capital used to move both goods as well as passengers, it is crucial to keep vehicles under the permissible weight limit, especially when it comes to commercial vehicles.
Driving with Excess Passenger
Goverened under Section 194A of the Motor Vehicle Act, driving with more passengers than what the registration certificate of the vehicle specifies constitutes the offence of driving with Excess Passengers which is punished with:
- A fine of Rs. 200 for every excess passenger
Driving Without a Seat Belt
Goverened under Section 194B of the Motor Vehicle Act, driving without wearing a seat belt constitutes the offence of driving without a seat belt which is punished with:
- A fine of Rs. 1,000
Failure to Give Way to Emergency Vehicles
Goverened under Section 194E of the Motor Vehicle Act, whoever fails to give way to an emergency vehicle such as a fire brigade or an ambulance etc. by drawing their motor vehicle to the side of the road constitutes the offence of failure to give way to an emergency vehicle which is punished with:
- Imprisonment of up to 6 months or
- A fine of Rs. 10,000 or
- Both
Violating Traffic Rules
Goverened under Section 177A of the Motor Vehicle Act, traffic violation of any road regulation shall constitute an offence of volition traffic rules which is punished with:
- A fine of Rs. 500 to 1,000
Traffic Violations Related to Documentation
The key to a safe and lawful drive is not just following traffic rules and regulations but also possessing all legal documents, permits, licenses, insurance etc. Any traffic violation related to the possession of such documents is also an offence under the Motor Vehicle Act attracting various penalties. Therefore it is crucial to know the repercussions of not possessing relevant documents while driving and a list of related challans that might follow:
Driving without a Valid Driving License
Goverened under Section 181 of the Motor Vehicle Act, driving without a valid driving license, or underage driving in contravention of the driving license requirements constitutes ano fence of driving without a License which is punished with:
- Imprisonment of up to 3 months or
- A Fine of Rs. 5,000 or
- Both
- In addition to the penalty and fine, the offender may also be liable to render community service
Using a Vehicle without Registration
Goverened under Section 192 of the Motor Vehicle Act, driving a motor vehicle without registration constitutes an offence of using a vehicle without registration which is punished with
- A fine of Rs. 2,000 to 5,000 (for the first offence)
- A fine of Rs. 5,000 to 10,000 (for the second/subsequent offence) or
- Imprisonment of up to 1 year (for the second/subsequent offence) or
- With Both (for the second/subsequent offence)
Using a Vehicle without a Permit
Goverened under Section 192A of the Motor Vehicle Act, driving a motor vehicle without a valid and requisite permit constitutes an offence of using a vehicle without a permit which is punished with
- Imprisonment of up to 6 months (for the first offence) or
- A fine of Rs. 10,000 (for the first offence)
- Imprisonment of 6 months which may extend to up to 1 year (for the second/subsequent offence) or
- A fine of Rs. 10,000 (for the second/subsequent offence) or
- With Both (for the second/subsequent offence)
Driving Uninsured Vehicle
Goverened under Section 196 of the Motor Vehicle Act, driving a motor vehicle without a valid insurance certificate constitutes an offence of using a vehicle without insurance which is punished with:
- Imprisonment of up to 3 months (for the first offence) or
- A fine of Rs. 2,000 (for the first offence) or
- With Both (for the first offence)
- Imprisonment of up to 3 months (for the second/subsequent offence) or
- A fine of Rs. 4,000 (for the second/subsequent offence) or
- With Both (for the second/subsequent offence)
Driving Without a Valid Pollution Certificate
Goverened under Section 190(2) of the Motor Vehicle Act, driving without a valid pollution certificate constitutes an offence of driving without a valid PUC which is punished with:
- A fine of Rs. 1,000 (for the first offence) or
- A fine of Rs. 2,000 (for the second/subsequent offence)
With Gurgaon adjoining the capital and having several industrial areas, the city struggles with bad air quality and that’s why driving without a valid Pollution Certificate is considered a strict traffic violation with special drives specially focused towards ensuring vehicles have a valid pollution certificate.
How to Check and Pay Traffic Challan in Gurgaon
With the use of technologies such as OSVD Cameras, Traffic Violation Detection Cameras, Speed Guns, Interceptors etc traffic violation detection and challan issuance has increased manifolds with a majority of challans in Gurgaon now being issued virtually. Therefore it is also important to know how to check for a virtual challan online. Here are the steps to check the virtual challan in Gurgaon:
- Step 1: Visit the official M-Parivahan website.
- Step 2: Choose the e-Challan System
- Step 3: Click on ‘Get Challan Details’
- Step 4: Pick the most suited option to get challan details for your vehicle. You can choose between Vehicle Number, DL Number or Challan Number to get all the challan details.
- Step 5: Depending upon the selected option, enter the details and click ‘Get Detail’
- Step 6: The details of all your issued and pending challan will be shown. Verify all information and click ‘Pay Now’.
- Step 7: Select your preferred payment option to make the payment.
- Step 8: Upon completion of the payment, an acknowledgement will be provided with the transaction ID for future reference.