Bhubaneswar, March 11: The state government has decided to introduce speed governors in all transport vehicles, including buses and trucks, to minimise the number of road mishaps.
Speed governor is a device, which is used to limit the top speed of a vehicle. For some classes of vehicle and in some jurisdictions, the speed limiters are a statutory requirement. For some other vehicles, the manufacturer provides a non-statutory system, which may be fixed or programmable by the driver.
Though the ministry of road transport and highways has notified installation of speed limiters in last April, the state transport department has sent the proposal to the government last month. Transport officials attributed the delay in implementation of the scheme due to non-availability of speed governors in the market. "Besides, we also conducted meeting with several stakeholders such as the bus and truck owners' associations seeking their suggestions before sending the proposal to the government," said an official.
According to the notification of the Union transport ministry, the vehicles such as buses and trucks and mini buses need to install speed governors to limit their speed to 80km per hour, while the speed limiters in school buses and vehicles carrying hazardous goods would set the maximum speed of 60km per hour. Fire tenders, ambulances and police vehicles do not need to install such speed limiters, the norms sate.
Transport commissioner-cum-chairman of the state transport authority Chandra Sekhar Kumar said they had sent a proposal to the state government. "Once the proposal is accepted and notified by the state government, it would be mandatory for the transport vehicles to install speed governors," said Kumar.
According to statistics of the National Crime Records Bureau, as many as 9,640 road mishaps took place in the state in 2014, claiming 3,920 lives. Besides, 11,083 people were injured in road mishaps in 2014. The accident severity ratio (number of person killed per 100 accidents) of the state stood at 40.7 per cent - which was way higher than Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Member of the National Road Safety Council, an advisory body to the ministry of road transport and highways, Kamaljit Soi today urged the state government to introduce the speed limiters at the earliest possible. "Over-speeding of by commercial vehicles has played a major role in accidental deaths in Odisha. So, we urge the state government to implement the scheme through eligible manufactures of the speed limit device," Soi told reporters in Bhubaneswar.
The transport department has also started a new initiative by identifying the black spots (accident-prone areas). A transport official said the black spots were being identified by a survey, conducted by the National Highways Authority of India as well as roads and buildings of the works department. The survey has identified as many as 31 black spots in the state.
"Though the national highways account for 2 per cent of the state's road network, 42 per cent of accident deaths take place on the national highways. So, we have deployed as many as 15 interceptors to check over-speeding and drunk driving. Besides, we have also decided to relocate the liquor shops located beside the national highways," said a transport official.
