The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed all states and Union Territories to urgently enforce Central Motor Vehicle Rules mandating speed governors, vehicle location tracking devices (VLTDs) and emergency panic buttons in passenger transport vehicles.
A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan was hearing a public interest litigation on road safety reforms when it noted widespread violations of mandatory provisions under the Central Motor Vehicle Rules.
The bench observed that Rule 118, which mandates speed governors, and Rule 125H, which requires VLTDs and emergency panic buttons, are being widely flouted. It said fitness certificates or permits shall not be issued to public service vehicles that fail to comply.
The court directed states and Union Territories to file fresh status reports on installation of speed limiting devices. It also asked the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) to consult manufacturers to ensure speed limiting devices and VLTDs with panic buttons are pre-installed in new vehicles, while states retrofit existing ones.
The bench ordered integration of compliance data with the VAHAN portal.
The court said, “It is disturbing that less than 1% of transport vehicles have VLTDs.”
Senior advocate Gaurav Agarwal, amicus curiae, said the 2018 MoRTH order aimed to strengthen emergency response. He said VLTDs use GPS to transmit a vehicle’s location to a Central Command and Control Centre, allowing instant tracking in cases such as abduction, hijacking or medical distress. Panic buttons alert police or women’s safety control centres for immediate assistance.
Agarwal said penalties include fines up to Rs 10,000 under the Motor Vehicles Act, up to Rs 1,00,000 for manufacturers or dealers, and powers to detain and impound vehicles.
The court posted the matter for September and directed an updated compliance report from the Centre.
It also reiterated earlier directions on cashless treatment for accident victims, golden hour care, hit-and-run compensation, and surveillance tools such as CCTV cameras, speed guns and automatic number plate recognition systems.
According to MoRTH data, India recorded over 480,583 crashes in 2023 causing 172,890 deaths. Out of 21.8 million transport vehicles, only 1.07 million had speed limiting devices, while only 175 million of 385 million vehicles had valid insurance.
Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest fatalities, followed by Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, while Delhi led among cities.
State-wise figures showed Uttar Pradesh reporting the highest fatalities, followed by Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. Among major cities, Delhi recorded the highest deaths, followed by Bengaluru and Jaipur.
(With inputs from agencies)
