Yes, Speed Governors in Trucks Mandatory in India
Published On Mar 10, 2017
The government of India has made speed governors mandatory for all trucks and buses in the country. A speed governor, as the name suggests, is a device used in vehicles to limit their speeds. This step has been taken for curbing road accidents occuring on Indian roads. The Narendra Modi led government had announced its intentions of bringing down road accidents in 2014 itself.
These speed limiters or governors will not allow vehicles to go above 80 kmph speed. School buses carrying children and trucks carrying hazardous materials will be limited to 60 kmph speed.
Nitin Gadkari, Union Transport Minister, in early 2016 had said “Ever since I have taken charge of the sector, the biggest regret that keeps haunting me is that despite best of our best intentions, Road Safety Bill is stuck. I feel pained and helpless to see 1.5 lakh Indians, mostly youth, dying on roads." The minister had also pointed towards a huge INR Four lakh crore economic loss caused due to these accidents. The amount is approximately equivalent to three percent of our country's GDP.
United Nations was the first Institution to put forward a 10 year action plan specifically designed to reduce road accidents. Various goals of this ‘Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020’ plan, include, first stabilizing and then reducing fatalities caused due to road accidents in the world. Over speeding and drunken driving are counted among the top causes responsible behind road accidents in our country.
The decision of making speed governors mandatory in commercial vehicles was taken during January 2017 and has been in effect since January 31, 2017. This development was implemented through an amendment made to Article 118 of the Motor Vehicles Act.
Advantages of equipping trucks and buses with speed governors are not only limited to decreased road accidents, but also include improved mileage and lower insurance premiums for heavy vehicles.
