‘90% OF CITY’S COMMERCIAL VEHICLES LACK SPEEDLIMITERS’

MUMBAI: Three years after the Centre made it mandatory to fit speed-limiting devices on all commercial vehicles, about 90% of those registered in Mumbai still ply without it.

According to the data supplied by the state to the Bombay high court (HC) on Wednesday, of the 1.13 lakh commercial vehicles registered in Mumbai, only 12,686 are fitted with speed-limiting devices. The division bench of acting chief justice Naresh Patil and justice Girish Kulkarni on Wednesday rapped the motor vehicles department for the slow implementation of the April 2014 notification issued by the Ministry of Surface Transport and Highways (MORTH). “Implementation of the notification in Mumbai itself appears to be weakest,” the bench said. The judges said the motor transport department cannot complain that they do not have the machinery to implement the notification. “There are toll booths every 100 or 200kms across Maharashtra. Your officers can check whether the commercial vehicles passing through them are fitted with speed-limiting devices,” the bench said. It also said the state can devise electronic tags that are fitted with speed governors and can be fixed on vehicles to make it easier for them to identify the errant vehicles.

The court was hearing a PIL filed by Rahat the Safe Community, complaining about the nonimplementation of the April 2015 notification. The petitioner contended that about 15,000 road accidents involving vehicles take place in Maharashtra every month and stricter enforcement of the notification was necessary. An association of vehicle manufacturers responded saying they have already started fitting all new commercial vehicles with speed governors, thus, limiting the issue to vehicles already registered with the state department. The court posted the PIL for Monday.