JOIN USSpeed governor: transport dept to give 3-month breather for vehicle owners
The Transport department will issue a notification in about a week, providing about three-month relief to the owners of more than 10,000 vehicles, which have not been issued fitness certificate (FC) for not installing speed governor.
Various associations of vehicle owners have approached Transport Commissioner B Dayananda and submitted letters from leading automobile manufacturers who warned of cancelling the warranty of a vehicle, which is fitted with an external speed limiting device (SLD).
"We will provide temporary relief of three months to vehicle owners during which we will settle some of the issues raised by them," sources in the government told DH.
The Transport Department will write to the Centre seeking its response to the issues. "We will forward the letters by manufacturers and ask the Centre whether we can exempt old vehicles from installing SLDs. We will also examine the possibility of directing manufacturers to come out with an SLD," a senior official in the department said.
Officials noted that since the speed governor rule has come from the Supreme Court, it is left to the Centre to come up with a balancing plan. "We are aware of the genuine problems caused by the rule but we are helpless. We hope to settle the matter within the time provided as interim relief," they noted.
South India Motor Transport Association secretary G R Shanmugappa said over 12,000 vehicles across the state have remained off the road due to the speed governor rule. "If we install SLD, we will lose warranty, if we don't then we won't get a fitness certificate. The rule has delivered a big blow to all the transporters. We hope the government will solve this soon," he said.
SLD for all?
Officials hinted that the Road Safety Authority (RSA), which will come into existence after a bill regarding the same is passed by the Legislative Assembly during the ongoing session, will propose to the Centre to include private vehicle under the speed governor rule.
"Private vehicles have been exempted from installing SLD considering that the driver will be responsible for his life unlike commercial and passenger vehicles, where commuters put their lives in the hands of a driver. However, considering that commercial vehicles account for less number of accidents compared to private vehicles, the RSA may recommend SLD for all," they added.