The Kerala state cabinet has given its nod to reduce most of the fines for traffic offences that were steeply hiked by the Centre under the Motor Vehicles Act recently. However, the fine for drink-driving will remain at Rs 10,000.

The fine for not wearing helmet and seat belt has been halved from Rs 1,000 to Rs 500. The fine for using mobile phone while driving will be Rs 2,000. For over-speeding, the fine would be Rs 1,500 in the first instance and Rs 3,000 for repeat offences. For overloading, the fine has been reduced from Rs 20,000 to Rs 10,000.

According to the new Motor Vehicles Act, for not wearing a helmet, the fine has increased from  Rs 100 to Rs 1,000, plus a three-month disqualification of licence. For not wearing a seat belt, the penalty is now Rs 1,000. For speeding or racing, the fine has increased from Rs 500 to Rs 5,000 and for drunken driving from Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000. The fine for driving without a valid licence is now Rs 5,000.