New Vehicle and Transport Management Act
Government Plans New Law for Traffic Management and Violation Reduction - To improve traffic management and reduce traffic rule violations, the Government of Nepal is set to introduce a new Vehicle and Transport Management Act.
The draft of the “Bill on the Arrangement of Vehicles and Transport – 2081” prepared for this purpose has been sent to the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers for approval, according to the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport. Once approved by the Council of Ministers, the bill will be presented to Parliament.
Krishnaraj Panth, Under Secretary and Chief of the Infrastructure Development and Transport Division at the ministry, stated that the new law is being introduced to make road transport services easy, safe, reliable, and accessible, while also providing quality transport facilities and minimizing increasing traffic rule violations.
Provisions in the New Law
The new Act proposes immediate action for 34 types of traffic rule violations. It also sets fines ranging from NPR 500 to NPR 50,000. Operating a stolen vehicle will carry a fine of NPR 50,000. According to Panth, the law aims to expand the scope of action and increase penalty amounts at one time.
If a person is hit or run over by a vehicle and dies, and it is proven that the driver intended to kill, the driver will face life imprisonment. Panth further stated that once the law is implemented, traffic rule violations will be discouraged, and the country’s transportation system will become more organized. He explained that low fines have contributed to increased violations, and the law aims to increase fines to discourage such behavior.
Proposed Fines
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Driving without headlights at night – NPR 2,000
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Transporting goods in a public vehicle in a way that endangers passengers – NPR 3,000
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Driving on a one-way street in the wrong direction – NPR 1,000
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Driving during the training period without the instructor at the designated place – NPR 3,000
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Ignoring traffic police signals – NPR 1,000 to NPR 2,000
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Not issuing tickets to passengers in public transport – NPR 2,000
Additionally:
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Honking in prohibited areas – NPR 500
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Not changing drivers every eight hours on long-route vehicles – NPR 5,000
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Throwing garbage on the road from a vehicle – NPR 1,000
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Operating a vehicle without an updated inspection certificate:
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Two-wheelers – NPR 5,000
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Three-wheelers and small vehicles – NPR 10,000
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Medium and large vehicles – NPR 15,000
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Not following traffic signs and signals – NPR 1,000
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Overspeeding beyond the set limit – NPR 5,000
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Driving in a way that harms others – NPR 25,000
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Overtaking in no-overtaking zones – NPR 2,000
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Not displaying the fare rate list in public vehicles – NPR 1,000
Current Traffic Violation Statistics
According to Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Deepak Giri, spokesperson for the Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office, Ramshahpath, traffic police currently take action against around 90,000 vehicles each month in the Kathmandu Valley for violating traffic rules.
