Dangerous driving and jumping a red light: fine amount and rules
Last verified: 12 Aug 2026
What the law says
Section 184 punishes driving at a speed or in a manner dangerous to the public, or — after the 2019 amendment — in a manner that causes a sense of alarm or distress to the occupants of the vehicle, other road users and persons near roads. The 2019 Explanation spells out what counts as dangerous: (a) jumping a red light, (b) violating a stop sign, (c) use of handheld communications devices while driving, (d) passing or overtaking contrary to law, (e) driving against the authorised flow of traffic, and (f) driving in a manner far below what would be expected of a competent and careful driver. Because red-light jumping now sits in Section 184, a challan charged under that section is a court matter rather than an on-the-spot compounding. States differ in how they book it: Delhi charges 'Jumping Red Light' under 184 MVA and marks it a court challan, while Maharashtra's Section 200 compounding notification confines its Section 184 entry to handheld communication devices, so no other Section 184 conduct can be compounded there — and an ordinary signal violation is instead booked under Rule 239 of the Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Rules read with Section 177 at ₹500, where it stays payable online. Check which section your challan actually cites.
Fine amounts
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| First offence | First offence: imprisonment for not less than 6 months and up to 1 year, or a fine of not less than ₹1,000 and up to ₹5,000, or both |
| Repeat offence | Second or subsequent offence committed within three years of a previous similar offence: imprisonment up to 2 years, or a fine of ₹10,000, or both |
| Licence impact | Section 206(4) obliges the officer to seize the driving licence of a driver believed to have committed a Section 184 offence and forward it to the licensing authority for disqualification or revocation proceedings under Section 19. Section 209 also bars conviction under Section 183 or Section 184 unless the driver was warned at the time, or a notice specifying the offence was served or sent by registered post within fourteen days, or a summons was served within twenty-eight days. |
| Payable online | Usually requires court appearance |
States with different notified amounts
| State | Amount |
|---|---|
| Andhra Pradesh | ₹1,035 light motor vehicle, ₹2,035 heavy vehicle for dangerous driving under s.184. AP's chart illustrates s.184 only with handheld-device use and does not list signal jumping separately. |
| Delhi | Court challan — Delhi notifies no compounding amount for 'Jumping Red Light', 'Violation of Stop Sign', 'Driving Dangerously' or 'Driving against the authorized flow of traffic' under 184 MVA; the schedule's footnote says the final amount is subject to the discretion of the Hon'ble court |
| Gujarat | ₹1,500 two/three-wheeler, ₹3,000 LMV, ₹5,000 other vehicles under s.184 — Gujarat repeats the identical amounts for a second or subsequent offence rather than escalating. |
| Haryana | ₹5,000 first offence, ₹10,000 on repeat, for 'dangerous driving/abetment' under s.184 per Gurugram Police's official schedule — the top of the central ₹1,000-5,000 range. |
| Karnataka | ₹500 (Bengaluru Traffic Police schedule; statewide gazette compounds s.184 only for handheld devices), for jumping a signal under Rule 119 read with s.177. BTP separately lists general dangerous driving under s.184 at ₹1,000 first, ₹2,000 repeat. |
| Maharashtra | Not compoundable as dangerous driving — the state's Section 184 entry covers only handheld devices. An ordinary signal violation is instead booked under MMVR 239 with Section 177 at ₹500, or ₹1,500 on repeat, so it usually stays payable online here |
| Rajasthan | Rajasthan compounds section 184 only for handheld-phone use, so a red-light charge framed under section 184 must go to court; signal disobedience booked under section 177 compounds at ₹100 (two/three-wheeler, e-rickshaw) or ₹200 (other vehicles). |
| Tamil Nadu | ₹1,000 for the first offence and ₹10,000 for a second or subsequent offence under s.184. A red-light or signage violation booked instead under s.177 compounds at ₹500 first / ₹1,500 repeat. |
| Uttar Pradesh | Not compoundable in Uttar Pradesh — only s.184(c) (handheld phone) appears in the state schedule, and s.184 clauses a, b, d, e and f, which include jumping a red light, are expressly carved out of the Rs 500 s.177 line too. These go to court. |
| West Bengal | Dangerous driving (s.184) compounds at ₹5,000, rising to ₹10,000 if repeated within three years. Red-light jumping is booked separately in West Bengal under rule 119 / s.177, the ₹500 slab (₹1,500 on repeat). |
Related
Frequently asked questions
Why can't I pay a red-light jumping challan online like other challans?
If it is charged under Section 184, you cannot. Section 200, which lists compoundable offences, brings in only 'clause (c) of the Explanation to section 184' — the use of handheld communication devices. Jumping a red light is clause (a), so a Section 184 charge goes to court, and Delhi's published schedule accordingly marks 'Jumping Red Light — 184 MVA' as a '*Court challan' whose amount is at the court's discretion. Not every state charges it that way, though: Maharashtra's published schedule books 'Jumping signal' under Rule 239 of the Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Rules read with Section 177 at ₹500, which is compoundable and payable online. Read the section printed on your own challan before assuming either way.
What exactly counts as dangerous driving under Section 184?
The 2019 Explanation lists jumping a red light, violating a stop sign, using handheld communication devices while driving, passing or overtaking contrary to law, driving against the authorised flow of traffic, and driving in any manner falling far below what would be expected of a competent and careful driver where the danger would be obvious to such a driver.
Is there a minimum jail term for dangerous driving?
For the first offence the section reads 'imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year but shall not be less than six months or with fine which shall not be less than one thousand rupees but may extend to five thousand rupees, or with both' — so where the court chooses imprisonment there is a six-month floor, but the court may instead impose only a fine.
Sources
- www.indiacode.nic.in — https://www.indiacode.nic.in/show-data?actid=AC_CEN_30_42_00009_198859_1517807326286§ionId=28460§ionno=184&orderno=204
- www.indiacode.nic.in — https://www.indiacode.nic.in/show-data?actid=AC_CEN_30_42_00009_198859_1517807326286§ionId=28477§ionno=200&orderno=231
- www.indiacode.nic.in — https://www.indiacode.nic.in/show-data?actid=AC_CEN_30_42_00009_198859_1517807326286§ionId=28483§ionno=206&orderno=237
- www.indiacode.nic.in — https://www.indiacode.nic.in/show-data?actid=AC_CEN_30_42_00009_198859_1517807326286§ionId=28486§ionno=209&orderno=240
- traffic.delhipolice.gov.in — https://traffic.delhipolice.gov.in/traffic-offences
- vcourts.gov.in — https://vcourts.gov.in/virtualcourt/
- cdnbbsr.s3waas.gov.in — https://cdnbbsr.s3waas.gov.in/s35dec707028b05bcbd3a1db5640f842c5/uploads/2025/04/202504251593727433.pdf
- egazzete.mahaonline.gov.in — https://egazzete.mahaonline.gov.in/Forms/GazetteSearch.aspx
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