If you think that you can get away for talking on your cellphone while driving by paying up a Rs100-fine, bad news: the authorities are keen on tightening all screws.

A proposed amendment to the Motor Vehicles Act raises the minimum fine for the offence ten-fold and based on points accumulated through such future offences, a driving licence can be suspended for a year or even cancelled for five years.

The changes are part of the suggestions in a report of an expert committee, set up by the ministry of road transport and highways to review the Motor Vehicles Act, which came into force in 1988.

Three different sections in this Act, clubbed with the rules for its implementation in Maharashtra, address the offence of using mobile phones while driving. As per section 250 (A) (1) of the Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, a driver is prohibited from using a mobile phone behind the wheel and a fine is fixed at Rs100 in section 177 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. If the driver does not pay it, his licence may be impounded in lieu of a temporary licence permit, issued by the traffic police officer handling the case, as per section 206 (2) of the Motor Vehicles Act.

In its report, though, the committee has proposed a 10-fold increase in fine. In chapter ‘Offences, Penalties and Procedure’, the amendment to the offence ‘Use of mobile phone while driving’ is described in the following words:

“Whoever uses mobile phone or any accessories thereof while driving a motor vehicle shall be punishable with a fine of one thousand rupees and shall carry penalty points as per Schedule II.” But, there is no mention of a maximum fine that the traffic police can slap on offenders.

Also, the newly proposed ‘penalty points’ system will help enforcement authorities check the track record of offenders. Under the system, every offence will accumulate two points and when the tally reaches 12, the driver’s licence will be suspended for a year. When the offences add up to another 12, the licence will be cancelled for five years.

State transport commissioner VN More said, “As far as the issue of fines is concerned, we agree with the recommendations of the committee. In fact, we suggested an increase in fines even before the committee released its report, realising that the value of the fines fixed 10-15 years ago appears much less today due to inflation.”

It is not certain when the new amendments will be implemented, as the ministry of road transport and highways is still conducting consultations with state governments.