State defers panic button rule in commercial vehicles

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Apr 3, 2018, 23:39 IST

Pune: Though the state transport department has issued a circular making it mandatory for all public transport vehicles, including taxis and buses, to install vehicle-tracking devices and emergency buttons, it has deferred the implementation.
A senior official said unless there was a proper infrastructure to track vehicles and attend to emergency calls from passengers, it would be futile installing the gadgets in vehicles.

Earlier in the day on Tuesday, the Pune regional transport office (RTO) had said it will not issue fitness certificate to commercial vehicles that do not have a location tracking device (GPS) and a panic button installed in them. “This instruction has come from the Union ministry of road transport and highways. We will not provide fitness certificates to vehicles, which don’t have these facilities from now on,” Pune regional transport officer BI Ajri said.

Sources in the RTO, however, conceded that the infrastructure required to roll out the system was not in place. “We have been getting calls from the owners of commercial vehicles regarding the places from where they can buy the equipment to ensure that the GPS and the panic button are in place in their vehicles,” they said.

As per the notification, the vehicles which have been exempted from the rule include three-wheelers, e-rickshaws and those commercial vehicles that do not require permits.

Sudesh Khairnar, a taxi driver, said he had no idea about the new rule. “This is something new to me. I am worried as I do not know from where to get the required equipment. Why is the not giving us details about the dealers who manufacture and supply these products?” he said.

Khairnar asked as to why the RTO was not telling them about the cost factor involved. “Moreover, I do not even know how the system will work,” he added.
Babasaheb Khedekar, president of the Pune Luxury Bus Association, said even he had little information about the rule as the RTO is yet to reach out to them. “If the order dates back to November, we should have been properly briefed about it by the RTO,” he said.
Khedekar, however, agreed that emergency alarm system or a panic button was a must in vehicles.

Source : The Times Of India

Link : https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/state-defers-panic-button-rule-in-commercial-vehicles/articleshow/63602024.cms

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