Panic button must in new public transport vehicles from Tuesday

BENGALURU: The transport department on Monday said it would make vehicle tracking and emergency buttons mandatory in all new public transport vehicles across the state from January 1, also the the day when the Centre’s deadline for the same.

In a notification, the ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) stated that installation of AIS140 certified vehicle tracking system along with emergency button is mandatory from January 1, 2019 in all new public/passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles with national permit.

“This is mandatory to obtain a vehicle registration or fitness certificate from any RTO. The respective RTO officials will ensure compliance,” said a press release from the transport department.

“BSNL has developed AIS-140 national vehicle tracking portal to enable all states to check compliance as per mandate and then issue a registration or fitness certificate. This portal enables to capture the VLT device details along with vehicle and chassis numbers and integrate with the Vahan portal,” it said. “Once the details are integrated, the state can monitor vehicle movement and its location, get overspeeding alerts and also emergency notification alerts if a panic button is pressed by any passenger. Subsequently, the state or its authorised agency can take preventive or corrective action. The entire system that comprises vehicle tracking and emergency response system will ensure passenger safety and also will go a long way in preventing accidents and ensuring road safety,” it added.

TOI on Monday carried a report, ‘Karnataka to miss January 1 deadline to set up vehicle monitoring centre’. Experts say making installation of gadgets in vehicles mandatory won’t serve the purpose unless there is proper infrastructure to track vehicles and attend to emergency calls from passengers.