The State Transport Authority (STA) in a notification has made the fitment of Vehicle Location Tracking Device (VLTD) and Panic Buttons mandatory for all vehicles from October 1.
However, two-wheelers, rickshaws and three-wheelers have been exempted.
Regarding the necessity of making the VLTD and Panic Buttons mandatory, the STA states, “The objective of this project is to track and monitor the vehicles plying on the roads and to ensure the passenger safety, especially the women and child passengers.”
The VLTD and Panic Buttons are mandatory for vehicles including passenger buses, educational institutions’ buses, luxury cabs, maxi cabs, motor cabs, omni buses, private service vehicles, goods carriage vehicles operating on National Permit, vehicles carrying hazardous and explosive materials and ambulances.
If the VLTD is not fitted in the above-specified vehicles, then new vehicle would not be registered on or after October 1. Similarly, old vehicles registered on or before 30.09.2023, the vehicles owners shall not be able to make the transactions in Vahan like Fitness certificate (FC), Transfer of Ownership (TO), Permit, National Permit Authorisation with effect from January 1, 2024.