The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed all states and union territories to urgently implement the Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR) mandating speed controls, vehicle location tracking devices (VLTDs) and emergency panic buttons in passenger transport vehicles.
A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan, while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) on road safety reforms, observed that provisions for speed controls under Rule 118 of the CMVR and VLTDs as well as emergency buttons under Rule 125H of the same rules are being widely flouted.
“Lane driving will reduce accidents but how to inculcate it. Most drivers may be illiterate but lane driving is something the government should focus on,” the bench said, after being told that according to 2024 data released by Parliament, less than 5% of transport vehicles have speed limit devices (SLDs), while VLTDs are installed in less than 1% of vehicles.
Furthermore, it decided that fitness certificates or permits may not be issued to public service vehicles that violate these conditions.
Regarding compliance with Rule 118, the bench asked the states and union territories to submit fresh status reports showing compliance with the installation of SLDs. The court ordered the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) to hold talks with manufacturers to ensure that SLDs and VLTDs equipped with panic buttons are pre-installed in all new vehicles and asked states to retrofit existing vehicles with these devices.
The court asked the states and union territories to integrate compliance data with the central VAHAN portal.
“It is alarming that less than 1% of transport vehicles have VLTDs,” the court said. Senior Advocate Gaurav Agarwal, assisting the court as amicus curiae, pointed out that the Motor Vehicles (Vehicle Location Tracking Device and Emergency Button) Order was issued by the Ministry of Health and Environment in 2018 to ensure timely response to emergencies.
He said the VLTD uses Global Positioning System (GPS) to continuously transmit the vehicle’s location to the Central Command and Control Center (CCC) run by the government or a licensed agency. This only applies to public transportation vehicles, and in the event of an emergency such as hijacking, hijacking, or medical distress, the authorities can immediately determine the exact location of the vehicle.
The panic button can also be used to send an immediate alert to police control rooms or women’s safety command centres, which can immediately send help to the location of the affected passenger.
The law also imposes penalties for non-compliance, Agarwal said. Failure to comply with Rule 125H attracts legal penalties of up to $10,000 under the Motor Vehicles Act, penalties up to $100,000 for manufacturers or dealers who deliver non-compliant vehicles, and the ability to impound and impound the vehicles.
The court adjourned the matter to September to consider compliance with its directions and asked the Center to file an updated response by the next hearing date.
The court issued a host of directions in existing procedures, including cashless treatment for road accident victims, timely treatment during the golden hour after accidents, compensation provisions for hit and run victims, and electronic monitoring tools under the Motor Vehicles Act such as speed cameras, CCTV cameras, speed guns, speed regulators, and automatic number plate recognition systems to reduce road accidents.
According to figures presented to Parliament by the Housing Ministry in December 2025, there were more than 480,583 road accidents resulting in 172,890 deaths in 2023, compared to 461,312 accidents and 168,491 deaths the previous year.
Data available on government portals showed significant non-compliance with the provisions of the Value Added Law. Of the 21.8 million transport vehicles, only 1.07 million are equipped with mandatory speed limit devices (SLDs), resulting in excessive speed – a major cause of road accidents. In terms of insurance, the portal revealed that out of 385 million registered vehicles, only 175 million have valid insurance.
Among the states, information provided by the Ministry of Transport and Communications ranked Uttar Pradesh as highest in road accident deaths (23,652), contributing 13.7% of the total deaths. It is followed by Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra with 18,347 (10.6%) and 15,366 (9%) deaths, respectively. Among the major cities, Delhi recorded the highest number of deaths at 1,457, followed by Bengaluru (915) and Jaipur (850).
