The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed states and union territories to urgently address enforcement of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR) that require transport vehicles carrying passengers to have speed adjusters, vehicle locators and emergency buttons for the safety of passengers.
In an order passed in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on road safety reforms, a bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan observed that the provision for speed controls under Rule 118 of CMVR and Vehicle Location Tracking Device (VLTD) along with emergency button under Rule 125H are being followed in violation.
“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 Limiting Devices (SLD) while VLTD is installed in less than 1% of vehicles.
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“VLTD is something that will ensure the safety of passengers, especially women, senior citizens and children,” the bench said as it directed states and union territories to “strictly enforce Rule 125H by installing VLTD and panic button in a time-bound and verifiable manner in all new and existing vehicles.” Furthermore, it held that fitness certificates or permits may not be issued to public service vehicles that violate this requirement.
Regarding compliance with Rule 118, the bench asked the states and union territories to submit a fresh status report showing compliance with the installation of SLDs. The court ordered the health department to hold talks with manufacturers to get SLDs and VLTDs with panic buttons 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 are affected by VLTD,” the court said.
The court posted the order in September to consider compliance with its directions and asked the Center to file an updated response by the next hearing date.
