Buses without speed governors to lose fitness certificate

In the wake of the accident in Malappuram district which claimed 13 lives, the Kerala State Motor Vehicles Department has decided to cancel 'fitness' certificates of buses operating without speed governors.
Official sources said today that Transport Commissioner Rishiraj Singh has directed the department to urgently check whether speed governors in buses were in proper condition following the bus mishap at Chelakkad yesterday.
Preliminary reports had suggested that over speeding of the bus caused the accident.
According to earlier directions, the Motor Vehicles Department used to fine buses plying without speed governors. If the same vehicle was again caught flouting norms, their fitness certificate would be cancelled forthwith, sources said.

The department also plans to revise time schedules of passenger buses as part of its effort to check competition among private buses, the sources said.
Thirteen persons, including seven school students, were killed and 29 injured when a bus rammed into a roadside tree in Malappuram district yesterday.