Speed limiters to be mandatory on trucks, buses from October

In a bid to reduce the number of accidents on our roads caused due to over-speeding trucks and buses, the Government of India is planning to make it mandatory for new commercial vehicles to be fitted with speed limiting devices. The limiter will restrict the vehicles' speed to less than 80 kph.

The speed governors will have to be fitted on the vehicles manufactured on or after October 1, 2014 either in the manufacturing stage or dealership stage. This provision is not likely to be applicable to two-wheelers, three-wheelers, quadricycles, four-wheelers with a passenger seating capacity of less than eight, fire tenders, ambulances and police vehicles.

Regarding commercial vehicles registered before October 1, state governments will have the power to specify categories that should be fitted with speed governors.

The Government has also made it mandatory for commercial vehicles to be equipped with anti-lock braking systems from April 2015. While upcoming models will be equipped with the safety feature from the next fiscal, manufacturers will have to modify existing models to accommodate ABS.

Source: ET Auto