Enforce rules on installing speed governors in vehicles: HC

The Madras High Court today directed the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highway and the Tamil Nadu government to enforce rules on installation of speed governors in vehicles.

The first bench, comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M Sundar, gave the direction on a PIL filed by advocate V Kannan.

The court directed the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Principal Secretary, Secretary, Home (transport-v) department, Government of Tamil Nadu and Transport Commissioner, Chennai to enforce the rules and file their counter affidavits within four weeks.

It also directed the petitioner to file a rejoinder two weeks after that and posted the matter to October 23.
 

The petitioner referred to reports in two English dailies on road accident fatalities and submitted that the main reason for the deaths was driving vehicles beyond prescribed speed level.

According to a report, 1,155 people lost their lives in road accidents in 2015. Another report said that 4,148 people had been killed in the first three months of 2017 in road accident.

The petitioner referred to Rule 118 of the Central Motor Vehicle rules, 1989 and said the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had made it compulsory to install speed governors in certain motor vehicles with effect from July 1, 1993.

This was followed by another notification on October 1, 2015 making installation of speed governors mandatory in all transport vehicles manufactured on or after the above date.

Referring to some high court orders, a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court and a PIL filed in the Madras High Court, the petitioner contended that various efforts by the authorities had been periodically resisted by users.

The petitioner submitted that "serious flaws" had been found in enforcing the rule at ground level and sought a direction to the authorities to ensure installation of sealed, irremovable and tamper-proof speed governors of prescribed standard in all motor vehicles.