Bangalore, Feb. 13: If Karnataka High Court has its way, commercial vehicles across the country would have to install speed governors.

In rulings since last week, the court has slammed the state for going slow on its directive last month to make speed governors mandatory across Karnataka and sent a notice to the Union surface transport ministry on why the rule shouldn’t be enforced throughout the country.

Yesterday, a bench of Chief Justice Cyriac Joseph and Justice B.S. Patil ruled again that all new commercial vehicles in the state must put in place the device that keeps speeds within 60kmph. Old vehicles would have to get speed governors fitted by June 30 or face action.

Taxis, tempos, buses, trucks and an assortment of public vehicles would fall within the ambit of the rule.

A government notification had extended the June 30 deadline following protests by operators of commercial goods vehicles. But the court today stayed it.

The judges were hearing a public interest litigation filed by Y.N. Nanjappa who sought a directive to authorities to implement the rule.

Earlier, too, the high court had asked the state government not to buckle under pressure from the transport lobby and derail the move to install speed governors in all public transport vehicles.

The matter first caught the attention of the court while hearing a petition on the spate of accidents on the state’s highways. When it asked the transport department to come up with ways to curb rash driving, the department suggested speed governors.

Fleet operators say the gadget gives vehicle owners from other states an unfair advantage. A speed governor cuts the flow of diesel or petrol to the engine, slowing down the vehicle.

As the device limits the speed to 60kmph on highways that are designed for 100kmph-plus, the transport department had been toying with the idea of increasing the limit to 80kmph.

Fuel was added to the fire when the transport department said only “authorised” speed governors could be bought. They cost Rs 16,000 while unauthorised ones were available for Rs 2,500.

According to traffic experts, speed governors are necessary, but only on highways. “They are not advisable on urban roads where one cannot reach high speeds. There is a need to educate rash and negligent drivers, not restrict speed, especially as highways have been designed for 120kmph,” M.N. Sreehari, a traffic expert, told The Telegraph.

Lorry association members say fixing the gadget is a self-defeating exercise when highways are being upgraded.

“Delivery of both goods and people is all about speed in a resurgent economy like India. If speed governors are mandatory all over the country, we are fine with it. It cannot be only for vehicles registered in Karnataka.

“Once we cross the borders, we cannot travel at good speed. Also, it gives vehicles registered in other states an unfair advantage,” said Shanmuga Sundaram, secretary, the South India Lorry Owners’ Federation.

Fleet owners also point to a recommendation of the National Highways Authority of India to a parliamentary committee on road safety that the speed limit be made 100kmph on national highways and 80kmph on state highways.