In a statement by senior officials from Indian government, All trucks and buses need to have anti-lock braking system (ABS) for better road safety. All those buses which weigh more than 5 tonnes and trucks which weigh more than 12 tonnes would compulsarily be covered under this regime.
"We are starting with bigger vehicles to adopt this critical technology on safety. It would minimise or prevent skidding of heavy vehicles at high speeds. Subsequently, it would be made mandatory for other vehicles," said a senior government official, who preferred not to be named.
ABS is a new age braking system that allows the driver to maintain control or swerve around an obstacle instead of sliding towards it. It comes as a standard fitment across all kind of heavy vehicles in developed world.
India currently has one of the worst road accident rates worldwide. Government statistics show that 1.35 lakh people died in 2010 in road accidents across India, which increased to 1.42 lakh in 2011. Around 31% of the incidents involve commercial vehicles like trucks, buses and tractors.
The government would notify the measure soon and all trucks and buses manufacturers would have to install sophisticated ABS in the next one year. The cost is expected to vary between 20,000 and 50,000 depending on the size and class of commercial vehicle. Once mandated by the roads ministry, it would be an effective mechanism to improve passenger safety as majority of heavy buses sold in India would be covered by it. Nearly 45,000 passenger buses and 1.6 lakh trucks would be covered by the new provision in the Indian market where around three lakh units are sold every year.
Vishnu Mathur, director general of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, said: "The safety aspect would be enhanced in bigger vehicles which are more prone to serious accidents in harsh driving conditions. ABS would assist the driver to have better control when emergency brakes are applied on higher speed as this equipment has already proved to be effective technology in the developed markets."
ABS has already been installed in some high end buses and truck models which are manufactured by global manufacturers like Daimler and Volvo.
"We are starting with bigger vehicles to adopt this critical technology on safety. It would minimise or prevent skidding of heavy vehicles at high speeds. Subsequently, it would be made mandatory for other vehicles," said a senior government official, who preferred not to be named.
ABS is a new age braking system that allows the driver to maintain control or swerve around an obstacle instead of sliding towards it. It comes as a standard fitment across all kind of heavy vehicles in developed world.
India currently has one of the worst road accident rates worldwide. Government statistics show that 1.35 lakh people died in 2010 in road accidents across India, which increased to 1.42 lakh in 2011. Around 31% of the incidents involve commercial vehicles like trucks, buses and tractors.
The government would notify the measure soon and all trucks and buses manufacturers would have to install sophisticated ABS in the next one year. The cost is expected to vary between 20,000 and 50,000 depending on the size and class of commercial vehicle. Once mandated by the roads ministry, it would be an effective mechanism to improve passenger safety as majority of heavy buses sold in India would be covered by it. Nearly 45,000 passenger buses and 1.6 lakh trucks would be covered by the new provision in the Indian market where around three lakh units are sold every year.
Vishnu Mathur, director general of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, said: "The safety aspect would be enhanced in bigger vehicles which are more prone to serious accidents in harsh driving conditions. ABS would assist the driver to have better control when emergency brakes are applied on higher speed as this equipment has already proved to be effective technology in the developed markets."
ABS has already been installed in some high end buses and truck models which are manufactured by global manufacturers like Daimler and Volvo.
0 comments:
Post a Comment