Motor Vehicles Laws for Suspension of Driving License

Suspension of Driving License in India

The 24 October 2009 issue of India Today reports on the fateful escape of 30 passengers in a Delhi Transport Corporation bus, when its driver, while talking on a mobile phone, lost control over the bus and led it into a ditch. 

When the passengers related the story to the cops, the driver was charged with negligence and arrested.

However, do you know what follows for such drivers? Or, just for information sake, what are the Indian driving laws and licence driving and driving speed? Well, chances are you do not, unless you are an expert in the field. So, why not brush your fundamentals about our prevailing driving laws and laws for suspension of driving license?

Conditions for Suspension of License Driving

The RTO, the court or any other prescribed authority has the right to suspend a person’s license driving, under the following circumstances:

• If one is a habitual drunkard, criminal or drug addict
• Using a motor vehicle to commit a criminal offense
• Rash or dangerous driving that is potentially harmful (imprisonment for up to six months)
• When the person suffers from a disability or disease
• When convicted of not reporting an accident, not providing medical assistance to the injured or not stopping bone’s vehicle as required by the police
• Any act that may cause nuisance to the public, such as overloading, abandoning vehicles in public place, participating in strikes, assaulting passengers, and so on.
• Drunken driving also results in suspension of license for six months or more

In case of suspension, revocation or refusal of license, a person can appeal to the prescribed authority or court within 30 days of issue of the order. The government is now considering an overhaul of the Motor Vehicles Act to include clauses for talking on mobile phone while driving, a large contributor of driving accidents. The Union Road and Surface Transport ministry has also decided that while the first three driving law violations will attract fines, the fourth and fifth violation must invite monetary penalty and negative mention on the license. The sixth offence, however, will lead to the suspension of license for six months.