Nobody likes commercial vehicles that travel at high speeds on the highway, they also are a major factor in road accidents and deaths. Since over 62% of road accident deaths in India can be attributed to over-speeding the government mandated for all commercial vehicles to be fitted with speed governors by order from the Karnataka High Court. The Union Minister for Road and Highway Transport Nitin Gadkari said “Ever since I have taken charge of the sector, the biggest regret that keeps haunting me is that despite best of our best intentions, Road Safety Bill is stuck. I feel pained and helpless to see 1.5 lakh Indians, mostly youth, dying on roads,” in early 2016. He believes the economic loss from these accidents is nearly Rs. 4 lakh crore each year. Safer roads and lesser accidents will make a good impact for both people and the economy. Finally, towards the first half of last year, the government mandated for all commercial vehicles to be fitted with speed governors by order from the Karnataka High Court. Now in 2018, the government will abolish the requirement for commercial vehicles to have speed governs installed, says the Union Minister for Road and Highway Transport Nitin Gadkari. Despite its supposed safety benefits, the rule faced a lot of criticism from the transport lobby. Gadkari at the 58th SIAM annual convention announced that he will soon “demolish the speed governor system” since limiting speed had no role in tackling the number of accidents and fatalities on the road. He did not reveal when exactly the rule will be abolished which means commercial vehicle owners will have to continue sticking to the speed limits set by the government. The speed governor currently refrains buses and taxis vehicle from exceeding speeds of up to 80kph, while trucks have theirs limited to 60kph and school buses and three-wheelers are limited to 40kph. The Ministry will also have to revise the Central Vehicles rules, allowing them to abolish the governors entirely.
