Making an appeal to respective States to install speed governors in commercial vehicles, National Road Safety Council (NRSC) member Kamal Soi said the move could save thousands of lives by reducing the number of road accidents by up to 25 per cent. By restricting the speed of vehicles, the fatality rate would also be reduced if there is any collision of vehicles, he said.

“As per recent survey and latest news reports, it is evident that commercial vehicles on highways with high speed are one of the main reasons for road accidents and deaths accounting for over 40-50 per cent of road accident deaths,” Soi said.

Over the last six months, more than 75,000 people have died in road accidents, he said.

“The most effective way to reduce these alarming statistics is by slowing down on our roads… Speeding is not just driving faster than the speed limit, it is also driving too fast for the weather, light, traffic and road conditions. After lots of efforts and persuasion, the Supreme Court of India issued directions to all the States in 2002 for fitment of speed governors… But utter disregard to human lives, States have not followed the directions,” he added.

Just issuing notifications to this effect will not serve the purpose as many State Governments have done. Instead, clear guidelines and strict enforcement is the only way forward, Soi said.

“The only way to ensure the effective State-wide implementation of the speed control is to install speed governors regime through proper tender process and stringent short-listing process of the manufacturers with strict terms and conditions… That agency should have technical expertise and financial standing to stay in the market for long term so that it could also provide service guarantee for the devices for the lifetime of the vehicle,” Soi added.