HYDERABAD: Waking up to the issue of road safety in the wake of the Mahbubnagar bus mishap, the government of Karnataka is mulling requesting the Centre to impose a ban on movement of commercial passenger vehicles on the national highways between midnight and 5 am. This is apart from both Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka deciding to launch a drive to make sure that all commercial vehicles are fitted with speed governors.
Karnataka transport minster Ramalinga Reddy, who on Thursday visited Osmania General Hospital where 45 bodies were kept and DRDO Appolo Hospital where five injured victims are recuperating, told TOI that his government was actively considering banning the movement of the passenger commercial vehicles after midnight. He said the state government would send a proposal to this effect to the Centre after studying the practicality of the rule.
"There are many steps that we are looking to take to ensure passenger safety. There are suggestions to restrict passenger commercial vehicles from plying during night on the highways. As these suggestions need to be studied, we will call meeting of officials once we go back to Bangalore and come out with recommendations to the Union government," said Ramalinga Reddy.
Both he and his AP counterpart Botsa Satyanarayana were in consensus on making speed-controlling devices such as speed governors and electronic control units for commercial vehicles including public buses. "I and Ramalinga Reddy are on the same page as far as making speed governor mandatory for commercial vehicles. While we have already implemented it for certain vehicles including school vans, we still have to ensure that all commercial vehicles are brought under it," Botsa said.
Since the speed limit is to be determined for different kinds of vehicles taking road conditions into consideration, Botsa said his government would constitute a study committee to come out with recommendations.
Botsa and Reddy said their respective governments had already implemented the speed governor rule for the new vehicles following the ministry of road transport and highways issuing a notification in December last year for the compulsory use of speed-controlling devices. Now, they would look into the option of including the old vehicles too.
As per a notification issued by the ministry of road transport and highways, the maximum speed limit will be changed from 65 kmph to 80 kmph for private and public transport vehicles. The notification, issued by the ministry on December 31, specified that even old transport vehicles need to be fitted with speed governors or limiting devices before April 1, 2014.
In case of vehicles that are already fitted with governors or limiting devices, the speed limit will be revised to 80 kmph. However, the argument is that 80 kmph is too less for the express highways with four lanes and eight lanes. And Karnataka transport commissioner K Amaranarayana, who accompanied Ramalinga Reddy, said the speed limit must be determined on a scientific basis.
Apart from two and three wheelers, the ministry has also excluded four wheelers that have a gross weight lesser than 3,500 kg including police vehicles, ambulances, fire tenders and other passenger vehicles such as cars from this clause. "Commercial vehicles with a state permit, national goods permit and all-India tourists' permit are also excluded. In reality, they too should be fitted with speed governors," said an AP transport official.
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