CHENNAI: Forty-one per cent of the 1,37,572 deaths caused due to negligent driving on Indian roads in 2013, were directly linked to over-speeding, according to a report published by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
While this means that over-speeding by vehicles continues to be one of the leading causes of deaths in India, some respite to the ones who are affected -- the pedestrians and those using two-wheelers -- has come in the form of a notification by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways issued earlier this month.
The notification, which was issued after taking a letter shot off by Chennai-based social activist Kannan Gandhian to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) into consideration, has made it compulsory for all the new transport vehicles including buses, trucks, and dumpers, to have speed governors installed by October 1 this year.
The existing vehicles, however, will have to instal the governors by April 1 next year. The governors will ensure that all commercial vehicles will ply at a maximum of 80 kmph and other vehicles including vehicles carrying hazardous goods will restrict their speed to a maximum of 60 kmph. Fire tenders, ambulances and police vehicles, have been exempted from installing speed governors.
Even though the notification came this month, a letter to the Ministry of Home Affairs by Kannan Gandhian dated July 7, 2013, questioned the logic behind manufacturing specific vehicles that can ply at more than 110 kmph speed and some others at 80 kmph. It further requested the fitting of speed governors to the existing vehicles, and stated that the governors must be installed in the production stage itself.
Subsequently, the MHA on July 23, 2013, had issued an Office Memorandum numbered 20011/3/2013-Coord-II to Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, asking for a response. However, with no response from MoRTH, Kannan sent two reminders, one on October 17, 2013, and another on March 18, 2014 regarding the issue. It was only early this month, after Kannan had decided to take the legal route by filing a PIL, that the notification was issued by the Central government.
But Kannan feels that this move will solve only half the problems. “While there has been a significant impact, I guess this will solve only half the issues, and over-speeding would continue to claim many more lives,” he opined, emphasising that the speed governors should be installed at the time of manufacturing itself to bring the situation under control.
The present move though allows it to be installed in the plant, or even at the level of the distributor.
“This means I have achieved only half the success,” said Kannan.