Govt working on safety rating system for trucks, commercial vehicles, battery operated e-rickshaws

He said the move will encourage manufacturers to improve production quality and safety standards in commercial vehicles.

In a significant move aimed at improving road safety across the country, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways plans to bring a safety assessment rating system for trucks and commercial vehicles, on the lines of country’s four-wheel star rating system - Bharat New Car Assessment Program (BNCAP). The announcement was made by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari while inaugurating a two-day workshop on Vehicle and Fleet Safety organized jointly by the Global New Car Assessment Program (GNCAP) and the Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE) on Thursday.

Informing that a safety rating for battery operated e-rickshaws would also be announced soon, Gadkari said, “The idea is to encourage manufacturers to improve the production quality making vehicles more safe. Similarly government is already working on standards and safety assessment system for battery operated e-rickshaws in the country as they suffer from safety issues. The safety improvement in e-rickshaws will improve their quality and generate more employment.”

The move, he said, will encourage manufacturers to improve production quality and safety standards in commercial vehicles.

India accounts for highest number of fatal road accidents with 4.8 lakh road crashes each year resulting in 1.8 lakh deaths. With a focus on this statistic, Gadkari said, "The government’s top priority is on road safety, expansion of safe highways and vehicle safety and bolstering electric vehicles. The ministry is also working on reducing logistics cost to 9 percent in next couple of years from present 14-16 percent as automobile industry plays a key role in India’s economic growth."

The Union Minister informed that the roadways ministry is working on laws to determine the working hours for truck drivers who presently drive up to 13 to 14 hours every day, and said, "As the country is facing shortage of truck drivers, government also plans to set up 32 state-of-the-art driving institutes across the country. Airconditioning of driver compartments have already been mandatory. Advanced Driver-Assistance system (ADAS) to assist drivers has also been made mandatory."

He further informed that the government has recently introduced road safety as part of school curriculum for students of class 1 to 12, and the modules will be introduced in the current academic year.