Govt could end 80 km/h speed limit for cabs on highways

In 2017, the Supreme Court had directed states to install Speed Limiting Devices (SLDs) on transport vehicles, including cabs.

The government is looking to set maximum speed limits for different types of roads based on the lane configuration instead of having separate speed limits for passenger cars and cabs.

At present, the speed limit for private cars on expressways and national highways is 120 km/h and 100 km/h, respectively. However, cabs are electronically limited to 80 km/h. The issue recently came up during discussions held by a committee set up for the 'Review of Speed Limit' of vehicles by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways.

The Bus and Car Operators Confederation of India (BOCI), in a letter to the ministry, has termed the policy as "highly discriminatory".

"This is highly discriminatory and doesn't serve the purpose. Speed limits should be defined by safety features provided in vehicles rather than applying different speed limits to the same model on vehicles based on its category as transport and non-transport," BOCI said.

A Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety had directed all states to install Speed Limiting Devices (SLDs) on transport vehicles, including cabs, in April 2017.

Source: ET Auto