What is Traffic Challan?
Varied traffic rules are meant to make proper discipline on roads. If any of you break these rules, the traffic police penalise you for violating the traffic rules. The police will cut a challan to fine you for ignoring traffic rules. What is a traffic challan? Here is detailed information that every commuter or driver should know for convenience:
This is common for people who often ignore the traffic rules and are stopped by the traffic police. The reason could be anything, as several traffic rules are meant to maintain law and order on the roads. These rules aim at ensuring everybody’s safety on the road by reducing the number of accidents. However, people often overlook these rules and run their vehicles recklessly, causing accidents or other damage. This comes under a serious traffic offence as driving dangerously on the road can cause death or severe injury to passers-by or damage to other vehicles or passengers. Therefore, many laws (Central Motor Vehicle Rules, Motor Vehicle Act, and State Motor Vehicle Rules) are enforced to ensure road safety. The traffic police can issue a traffic challenge or traffic ticket to any lawbreaker. There are many reasons why traffic police can stop you on the road and give you a challenge for breaking the traffic rules.
What is a traffic challan? When can the police issue a traffic challan? What exactly do you need to know about traffic challan? Read below:
Traffic Fines:
The Rules of the Road Regulation came into effect in 1989 in India to avoid fatal accidents and make roads safer for everybody. These rules are meant for all Indian drivers (two, three, four, or more wheeler drivers) to drive their vehicles safely on the roads. These rules also help the traffic police to maintain systematic traffic. Suppose someone disrespects or breaks any of these rules. In that case, it is considered a severe offence, and the traffic police act or cut a challan according to the Indian Motor Vehicle Act or the city-specific traffic rules. Effective implementation of these traffic rules reduces road accidents as nobody wants to pay the penalty and face legal hassle. Traffic police can issue a challan for speeding, wrong parking, jumping a red light, driving without a helmet, driving the vehicle without a number plate, a license and registration, valid vehicle insurance, and a pollution certificate. All these factors are offences under the Motor Vehicles Act. A list of a few traffic crimes and associated fines are listed below:
| Offence Under Section | Penalty in Rupees |
|---|---|
| Rash Driving (Section 184) | 5000 |
| Road Rules Violation (Under Section 177A) | 500 |
| Disobeying orders from the authorities (Under Section179) | 2000 |
| Over speeding (Under Section 183) | 1000 (Light Weight), 2000 (Medium Passenger Vehicle) |
| Driving Without License (Under Section 181) | 5000 |
| Driving an unauthorized vehicle (Under Section 180) | 5000 |
| Driving Despite Disqualification (Under Section 182) | 10,000 |
| Driving under the influence of an intoxicating substance (Under section 185) | 10,000 |
| Illegal racing (Under Section 189) | 5000 |
| Vehicle Without Permit (Under Section 192 A) | Upto 10,000 |
| Not Wearing Seat Belt (Under Section 194 B) | 1000 |
| Not Giving Way to Emergency Vehicles (Under Section 194 E) | 10,000 |
| Riding a two-wheeler without helmet (Under Section 194 D) | 1000 plus License Disqualified for 3 months |
Apart from these conditions, driving a vehicle without an insurance document on the Indian roads is also a crime. According to the Road Transport and Safety Bill 2014, you will be fined heavily (between Rs. 25,000 -Rs. 75,000) if you drive your vehicle without having a valid motor insurance plan. The traffic police can also issue challan in case of overloading and violation of traffic rules made to make roads safe for the public.
Know your Rights when you are on the Road
Traffic rules are implemented with the driver’s or commuter’s rights. No need to worry when the traffic police stop you. Here are various factors related to traffic challan:
- Traffic police should have a challan book or e-challan machine to issue a challan. No one can penalise you without having these things.
- According to the Motor Vehicle Act Section 130, “the driver of a motor vehicle in any public place shall on demand by any police officer in uniform ‘produce’ his license for examination.” As the statement says clearly, you only need to “produce”, not hand over the traffic police license.
- If you don’t have a license, traffic police may detain your vehicle.
- Traffic police may also detain your vehicle if it is not registered.
- You can settle the challan on the spot by paying the fine to an officer rank (sub-inspector or above) traffic cop.
- Traffic police can only remove your driver's license by giving you a valid receipt.
- Traffic police can tow only empty vehicles. As long as you are sitting in your vehicle, police cannot toe it.
- If traffic police have detained you for any offence, you must be produced before the magistrate within 24 hours for the trial.
- Traffic police cannot harass you. If it does, you can file a complaint with the police with the proper proof and related particulars of the incident.
- Ensure that a traffic police challan slip must contain
- The details of the offence committed
- Vehicle details
- Challenging officer details
- Date of trial
- Name and address of the offender
- Retained documents details
- Name and address of the court where the offence will be trailed
Do Not Bribe Traffic Police
Do not try to bribe traffic police to get away from the traffic police challan. Bribing traffic police is an atrocious crime, and it should not be committed by any one of us. However, to eliminate this crime, the Indian government has introduced the e-challan system, allowing online payment for traffic challan. In this manner, you need not waste your time to go to the local challan office or judiciary for payment.
Now you have the answer, "What is traffic challan?". So, come together to spread awareness to make Indian roads accident-free.