Speed for Delhi roads raised

The Delhi Government has notified a regulation for maximum speed of vehicles plying in Delhi with a mandatory speed governor rule. 

The speed limit for transport vehicles having National Permit, Interstate Permit or All India Tourist Permit has been raised and fixed at 80 kmph while dumper, tanker and vehicles carrying hazardous good can now ply at 60 kmph in the national Capital. The move comes at a time when the Centre is trying to do away with speed governors for commercial vehicles.

As per the new directions, the speed limit for transport vehicles having permit to ply in Delhi, school bus with any permit and all transport vehicles exempted from the necessity of permits has been fixed at 40 kmph speed. For Airport passenger bus referred in rule 93-C of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, the maximum speed has been fixed at 30 km per hour.

Union Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari last month had said the Government is likely to revoke the mandatory requirement of speed governors for commercial vehicles that was imposed in 2017.

“I will remove (the mandatory requirement of) speed governors for commercial vehicles,” Gadkari had said at a Press conference.

Sources in Road Ministry said to this effect the Ministry will have to amend the Central Motor Vehicles Rules. The Government has made it mandatory though for manufacturers to equip cars, from July 2019, with speed alarms which will be activated after 80 kmph.

The Delhi Government’s move is intended to reduce road accidents by limiting the maximum speed of vehicles. According to new rules notified by the Transport Department of the Delhi Government, every transport vehicle registered prior to the October 1, 2015, which are not already fitted with a speed governor (speed limiting device or speed limiting function), shall be fitted with speed governor.

Speed governors are small devices that do not allow drivers to accelerate beyond a certain limit. In this case, some vehicles are allowed a maximum speed of 80kmph, while others, like school buses, can’t be driven at speeds over 60 kmph. “For heavy vehicles, speed governors cost Rs 15,000-16,000 each. For medium vehicles, they cost nearly Rs 10,000,” said officials of transport department.

As many as 17 people died in 55 road accidents per hour on average last year, with nearly half of them in the 18-35 age group.

A total of 4,80,652 road accidents took place in India last year resulting in the loss of 1,50,785 lives and inflicting serious injuries on 4,94,624 persons. In Delhi, as many as 1,591 people lost their lives in road accidents last year.

“Every speed limiting device shall be sealed by the concerned vehicle manufacturer or the manufacture of concerned speed limiting device or their authorised representative, whosoever fitted the speed limiting device with a type of seal specified by the Transport Department”, it said.