The Supreme Court has directed mandatory installation of GPS tracking devices and emergency buttons in public transport vehicles across India to improve passenger safety and road monitoring.
Coimbatore: The Supreme Court has directed that all public transport vehicles across the country must be equipped with GPS tracking systems and emergency buttons to strengthen passenger safety measures.
The order was passed by a bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan while hearing a long-pending road safety case filed by Coimbatore-based orthopaedic specialist Dr Rajasekaran in 2012. The petition sought stronger measures from the Union Government to reduce road accidents and improve transport safety standards.
Expressing concern over poor implementation of safety norms, the court observed that less than one percent of government vehicles currently have GPS tracking devices installed. The bench criticised states for failing to properly enforce provisions under the Central Motor Vehicles Rules.
The court has now ordered that no fitness certificate or transport permit should be issued to vehicles that do not have GPS devices and emergency buttons installed.
It further directed state governments to ensure that even vehicles registered before December 21, 2018 are retrofitted with these safety systems.
The Supreme Court also instructed authorities to integrate the installed devices with the Centre’s “Vahan” database for real-time monitoring and verification of functionality.
In another major direction, the court ordered vehicle manufacturers to install speed-governing devices in vehicles at the time of sale itself.
The bench also expressed dissatisfaction over the delay in constituting the National Road Safety Board and granted the Union Government a final three months to establish the body.
The case has been closely followed for over a decade, with the apex court periodically issuing directions aimed at improving road safety standards and reducing fatalities across India.
The order was passed by a bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan while hearing a long-pending road safety case filed by Coimbatore-based orthopaedic specialist Dr Rajasekaran in 2012. The petition sought stronger measures from the Union Government to reduce road accidents and improve transport safety standards.
Expressing concern over poor implementation of safety norms, the court observed that less than one percent of government vehicles currently have GPS tracking devices installed. The bench criticised states for failing to properly enforce provisions under the Central Motor Vehicles Rules.
The court has now ordered that no fitness certificate or transport permit should be issued to vehicles that do not have GPS devices and emergency buttons installed.
It further directed state governments to ensure that even vehicles registered before December 21, 2018 are retrofitted with these safety systems.
The Supreme Court also instructed authorities to integrate the installed devices with the Centre’s “Vahan” database for real-time monitoring and verification of functionality.
In another major direction, the court ordered vehicle manufacturers to install speed-governing devices in vehicles at the time of sale itself.
The bench also expressed dissatisfaction over the delay in constituting the National Road Safety Board and granted the Union Government a final three months to establish the body.
The case has been closely followed for over a decade, with the apex court periodically issuing directions aimed at improving road safety standards and reducing fatalities across India.