Rajasthan govt asked to install speed governors in vehicles

To cut down on the rise in road accidents in the state, the National Road Safety Council (NRSC) today cautioned Rajasthan government to install 'Speed Governors' in all commercial vehicles, in accordance with a Supreme Court directive.
"Of the 25,397 road accidents in Rajasthan in 2014, 10,990 people were killed, and by November 2015 there were about 9,800 deaths in the state," NRSC member Dr Kamaljit Soi told a press conference here.
As per the accident statistics of 2014 provided by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), Rajasthan had the seventh highest number of road accidents in the country, contributing to over five per cent of the national total, said Soi, who held a series of meetings at state transport commissioner's office since yesterday.

Stating that the SC had in 2002 and 2009 issued notifications vide fitment of speed governors, a device to measure and regulate speed, in all commercial vehicles, the NRSC member said the directions of the apex court were not followed by states, except for Telangana.
Quoting a public interest litigation (PIL), Soi said the SC has sought reports from states/Union Territories on steps taken by them in pursuance of its directive to install speed governor. The next hearing is scheduled on January 11
Meanwhile, the NRSC member reminded the state transport commissioner that installation of speed governors be done and tenders be issued to invite proposals from private companies for commercial vehicles on top priority.

There are over seven lakh commercial vehicles plying on the roads in Rajasthan, and in order to reduce accidents and deaths due to mishaps, speed governors need to be made mandatory in commercial vehicle, he stated.
The first six states on high road accident rates are Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Haryana with higher mortality rate too, he noted.
At least 1,50,000 people were killed in road mishaps across the country, he said citing a survey report.