Driving a defective/Unsafe Motor Vehicle

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You cannot drive, or allow someone to drive, a motor vehicle that has any defect which either you (owner) knows about or could have known about through ordinary care, which makes the car dangerous to other persons or vehicles¹. For example, if the brakes of your vehicle are not functioning properly, your vehicle will be considered defective.

The penalties for driving a defective motor vehicle are as follows¹:

If you drive or allow anyone to drive a defective motor vehicle, then you will be punished with a fine of at least Rs. 1,500. The applicable fine amount might vary across states.
If such a vehicle causes an accident that results in bodily injury or damage to property:
- For the first offence, you will be punished with a fine of Rs. 5,000 or jail time of up to 3 months or both. The applicable fine amount might vary across states.
- For every subsequent offence, you will be punished with a fine of up to Rs. 10,000 or jail time of up to 6 months. The applicable fine amount might vary across states.

Given below are the fine amounts for two states:

State	Offence	Frequency of Offence/Type of Vehicle	Fine Amount (In INR)
Delhi	Driving an unsafe/defective vehicle	Any offence	1,500
	Driving an unsafe/defective vehicle, resulting in an accident that causes bodily injury or property damage	First offence	5,000
		Any subsequent offence	10,000
Karnataka	Using vehicle in an unsafe condition	Two/Three-Wheeler	1,500
Karnataka	Using vehicle in an unsafe condition	Light Motor Vehicle, Heavy Motor Vehicle and Others	3,000

Section 190(1), The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. [↩] [↩]

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