MANDATORY SAFETY DEVICES FOR HEAVY COMMERCIAL VEHICLES
MANDATORY SAFETY DEVICES FOR HEAVY COMMERCIAL VEHICLES
The Government has undertaken the following steps to enhance the safety of medium and heavy-duty vehicles:
To enhance evaluation of brake performance, a revised braking standard (IS 11852: 2019) has been mandated [vide GSR 834(E) dated 11th Nov 2025] for trucks w.e.f. 01st Oct 2027. Earlier, the said standard was applicable to buses built by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) only.
Braking systems have been advanced with mandatory implementation of electronic stability control systems (AIS 162) [vide GSR 834(E) dated 11th Nov 2025] for trucks w.e.f. 01st Oct 2027, which provide stability, especially in the event of braking at curves.
Further, Advanced Emergency Braking System (AIS 162) w.e.f. 01st Oct 2027 has been made mandatory, which provides for automatic braking in the event of failure of the driver to respond to emergency situations, to either avoid a crash with obstacles in front or reduce the impact of a crash.
Advanced driver assistance technologies such as Blind Spot Information System (AIS 186) and Moving Off Information System (AIS 187), w.e.f. 01st January 2028, have been made mandatory, which will enhance the safety of vulnerable road users.
To mitigate the impact of the dangerous situation of a driver falling asleep and thus the vehicle losing the desired course of movement, systems such as Driver Drowsiness Detection and Alert System have been mandated (AIS 184) w.e.f. 01st January 2028. Additionally, the Lane Departure Warning System (AIS 188) has been made mandatory w.e.f. 01st January 2028, which gives a warning in the event of a vehicle deviating from the expected course of movement.
Further, to reduce driver fatigue, mandatory fitment of AC in truck cabins has been mandated under CMVR w.e.f. 01st October 2025.
Goods vehicles are required to undergo a truck cabin structural strength test. The goods vehicles manufactured on and after 01st April 2020, except for puller tractors for trailers, are required to be fitted with a reverse parking alert system complying with the requirements of AIS-145:2017. The trucks are required to be fitted with a reflective tape across the width of the body in accordance with the requirements of AIS-090:2005. The trucks are required to be fitted with a rear under-run protective device and a lateral under-run protective device in accordance with IS: 14812 and IS: 14862, respectively.
The Government administers a scheme for setting up Institutes of Driving Training & Research (IDTRs), Regional Driving Training Centres (RDTCs) and Driving Training Centres (DTCs) at State/district level across the country. Recently revised scheme guidelines have been issued, incorporating enhanced financial assistance and streamlined eligibility criteria for establishing Driving Training Institutes. Additionally, incentives have been introduced for setting up Automated Testing Stations (ATS) in conjunction with Driving Training Institutes (DTIs) under the Training-Testing Cluster approach.
Financial provisions for various training institutes are as under:
IDTR – Rs. 17.25 Crore
RDTC – Rs. 5.50 Crore
DTC – Rs. 2.50 Crore
(In accordance with the legal mandate under Section 162 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, the Cashless Treatment for Road Accident Victims Scheme, 2025 has been notified vide S.O. 2015(E) dated 05.05.2025. Furthermore, comprehensive guidelines detailing the process flow, roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders, and the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for its implementation have been issued vide S.O. 2489(E) dated 04.06.2025. Key features of the scheme include:
Treatment cover up to Rs. 1.5 lakh per victim will be provided, subject to a maximum cap of 7 days from the date of accident. The treatment cover will be available to those victims who are involved in road accidents caused by the use of motor vehicles.
Every road accident victim shall be provided stabilization treatment for up to 24 hours in non-life-threatening cases and up to 48 hours in life-threatening cases at designated hospitals, subject to police response.
This statutory scheme will take precedence over any other Central / State level schemes.
The scheme has been successfully implemented through the amalgamation of two existing technological platforms: e-DAR (electronic Detailed Accident Report) used by Police officials for reporting of accidents and TMS 2.0 (Transaction Management System) of the National Health Authority (NHA) used by hospitals for treatment, claim submission and processing of payments. The reimbursement to hospitals is being done through the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (MVAF), which is funded through contributions from General Insurance companies for cases where the offending motor vehicle is insured and through budgetary support for other-than-insured cases.
This information was given by the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Shri Nitin Jairam Gadkari Ji in written reply to the Lok Sabha.