(1) Every driver of a motor vehicle shall drive the vehicle in conformity with any indication given by mandatory traffic sign and in conformity with the driving regulations made by the Central Government, and shall comply with all directions given to him by any police officer for the time being engaged in the regulation of traffic in any public place.
(2) In this section mandatory traffic sign means a traffic sign included in Part A of the [First Schedule], or any traffic sign of similar form (that is to say, consisting of or including a circular disc displaying a device, word or figure and having a red ground or border) placed or erected for the purpose of regulating motor vehicle traffic under sub-section (1) of section 116.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 119
Section 119 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 creates an absolute statutory obligation on every motor vehicle driver to obey mandatory traffic signs (circular red-bordered discs under First Schedule Part A) and comply with manual directions given by traffic police officers on duty.
In MACT claims involving junction collisions, summon CCTV footage or traffic signal logs showing the offending vehicle disobeyed a red light or 'Stop' sign under Section 119. Establishing a breach of Section 119 eliminates the need for complex expert reconstruction, as violation of a mandatory sign amounts to statutory negligence per se.