NEW DELHI: The driver of the tanker carrying LPG in the fatal Jaipur crash was behind the wheel for more than 12 hours, Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday referring to preliminary findings of an investigation. He said to deal with the problem of driving for long hours in case of heavy vehicles, govt is working to devise a system to track the working hours of drivers.
Gadkari said that while drivers are not allowed to be behind the wheel for more than eight hours in the US, Europe and other developed countries, this norm is not being followed here. “We are looking at different options, including some kind of swiping the Aadhaar card in a system to see how many hours drivers of heavy vehicles spend behind the wheel. We are also going to make an automated emergency braking system, electronic stability control and driver drowsiness alert system (with audio alert) mandatory in all new heavy vehicles,” he said.
Road transport secretary V Umashankar said govt is exploring how vehicle location-tracking devices (VLTD) and Aadhaar card could be put together using technology to find out the working hours of drivers. VLTD is mandatory in all commercial vehicles.
He said that though Motor Transport Workers Act empowers states to notify the working conditions and driving hours, only some states have notified them. But there is a lack of enforcement.
Gadkari said that there was a need to address issues of shortage of drivers before taking any decision to restrict working hours of drivers. “I have urged state transport ministers to look into the issue. We will take a final decision after stakeholders consultation,” he said after chairing a meeting of 23 state transport ministers.
Gadkari and Umashankar said govt will also come up with a modified scheme by March to provide cashless treatment for road accident victims nationwide, under which they will be entitled to a maximum amount of Rs 1.5 lakh per accident per person. In March 2024, the ministry had launched a pilot programme to provide cashless treatment to road accident victims. The pilot project was later expanded to six states and UTs.
