A draft legislation to amend the Motor Vehicles Act to impose stiffer penalties on traffic rules violations and to protect the Good Samaritans from legal harassment was passed by the Lok Sabha on Monday.

The bill proposes hefty penalties for various traffic offences, three-year jail term for parents of minors caught driving and causing fatal accidents, and a ten-fold increase in compensation for the families of accident victims, among other things.

The changes in the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2016, were approved by the Union cabinet on March 31.

The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha last August and was referred to a parliamentary standing committee, whose suggestions have been endorsed by the Union Cabinet.