Driver's license to be nullified following 20+ parking violations under new regulation

Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation has introduced a new regulation that specifies that a driver’s license will be nullified if the owner gets issued a total of 20 parking violation stickers.

The regulation which was gazetted last night noted every license issued by the Ministry contains 100 credit points each – that would be subject to deduction following a violation stipulated in the regulation.  

In this regard, for every parking violation, 5 points will be deducted from the license. If the 100 credit points are completely exhausted, then the license would be nullified - meaning that if an individual is issued over 20 times, their license will no longer be valid.

As per Article 20 (c) of the regulation, individuals who have their licenses invalidated upon exhausting the credit points can reapply for their license after a period of 180 days. Article (20) (d) stipulates that when reapplying for their license - they would have to go through all the formalities initially completed such as the driver’s license examinations – theory and practical.

The regulation also further stipulates other circumstances in which credit points may be deducted from the license – one of such being putting a person’s life in danger through reckless or negligent driving will lead to a deduction of 75 points whereas injuring a person through reckless or negligent driving will lead to deduction of 50 points.

Driving over the speed limit will also result in the deduction of credit points.

The regulation also grants the discretion to the Police to withhold a license of an individual for long durations in certain circumstances. Accordingly, the license of a violator whose reckless or negligent driving has endangered someone's life can be withheld for 10 to 25 years. In cases of injuries, the license can be withheld for 6 months to five years based on the severity of the injury.

Additionally, the regulation also specifies the fine amount for driving land vehicles without a license. In the first instance, the violator would be charged a fine of MVR 1000. On a second instance, it would be MVR 1500, and any additional times following that would raise the fine up to MVR 2000.

Moreover, the owner of the vehicle which is driven by a person who does not have a license will be charged a fine of MVR 2,000 and the vehicle would be confiscated for 15 days.

This regulation is in effect starting today.