Your driving licence could be suspended from April 1: Here’s what’s changing

Amid the new financial year beginning from Tuesday, stricter traffic regulations have come into force, and the authorities have warned that failure to clear pending dues could lead to severe penalties, even the confiscation of driving licences, reported News18.

According to the new rules, if e-challans remain unpaid for over three months, then the driving licences can be suspended for three months. In case a person accumulates three challans for red light violations or reckless driving within a financial year, it could lead to a three-month licence suspension, added the report.

The new move by the government comes from a concern over low recovery rates of e-challans, with only 40 per cent of fines collected.

The report added that the government is also considering imposing higher insurance premiums for vehicle owners with at least two pending claims from the previous financial year.

The government is also planning to implement a comprehensive standard operating procedure after recognising that some fines may be unpaid due to late notifications or errors.

For this, the government is aiming to include minimum specifications for traffic cameras and monthly alerts to vehicle owners about outstanding fines.

Stats wise, Delhi currently has the lowest recovery rate for challans at 14 per cent, followed by Karnataka at 21 per cent and Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh at 27 per cent.

While, Maharashtra and Haryana lead with recovery rates of 62 and 76 per cent, respectively.

India faces highest road accidents globally:

A week ago, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju emphasized the critical importance of road safety, stating that it is a vital concern for every citizen.

He highlighted the need to adhere to traffic rules to prevent accidents, noting that India records the highest number of road accidents globally.

"Road safety is very important for every citizen. When you go out on the road, there are many rules to prevent accidents. The highest number of road accidents in the world occur in our country. This is a matter of concern," ANI quoted Rijiju as saying.

Earlier, Union Minister Nithin Gadkari reported that India experienced approximately 480,000 road accidents, resulting in 180,000 fatalities and around 400,000 serious injuries.

He emphasized that out of these deaths, 140,000 occurred among individuals aged 18 to 45 years, with two-wheeler riders and pedestrians being particularly vulnerable.

Additionally, he underlined that these accidents lead to an economic loss equivalent to 3 per cent of the nation's GDP.

With agency inputs.