Don’t register buses unless full compliance of safety requirements are established, Centre tells states

NEW DELHI: The road transport ministry has told states that no bus should be registered unless full compliance with mandatory safety requirements is established. It asked states to ensure that RTOs register buses only after “compliance with all mandatory safety standards”.

The ministry has written to all chief secretaries in the light of recent instances of bus fires that have claimed lives. It has been said that the safety compliance must be verified when vehicles come for a fitness test at the Automated Testing Station (ATS). States have also been asked to take action against non-compliance.

“Appropriate action, as per the law, for instances of non-compliance by bus body builders, transport operators, or the concerned inspecting/ approving authorities, to prevent incidents due to safety violations, may please be taken,” it has told states, seeking effective and immediate implementation.

Specifying the requirement of mandatory compliance at the registration stage, the ministry said RTOs must ensure that each bus has been manufactured strictly as per the Central Motor Vehicle Rules and notified Automotive Indian Standards (AIS). It said that the validity of the bus body builder accreditation certificate must be verified, and a detailed bus body layout drawing showing emergency exits, door locations, gangways and sleeper arrangement has to be examined and must be retained on record.

On the compliance of norms at the time of fitness test, the ministry has said that during inspection, fire safety equipment, emergency exits, structural condition and electrical system of the buses must be checked thoroughly.

As per law, fitness certificates of buses are valid for two years till they attain eight years, and afterwards the fitness certificates must be renewed annually.

The AIS norms specify that every bus must have two units of fire extinguishers (total capacity 10 kg), four exits (one exit for the emergency door, two for hatches and one for a window or glass) for buses of 12 m length. One additional hatch has to be provided for buses above 12 metres in length.

Moreover, other mandatory provisions include the mandatory installation of fire detection and suppression systems in the engine compartment and other fire-prone areas; no separation between the passenger and driver compartments for all types of buses.

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