NEW DELHI: Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday announced that he has approved the draft notification for mandatory provision of air-conditioning (AC) systems in the truck cabin. The government proposes to roll this out from January 2025.
In a tweet, Gadkari said, “Approved the draft notification to mandate the installation of air-conditioning systems in the cabins of trucks belonging to categories N2 and N3. Truck drivers play a crucial role in ensuring road safety. This decision marks a significant milestone in providing comfortable working conditions for truck drivers, thereby improving their efficiency and addressing the problem of driver fatigue.”
Sources said the new norm will pave the way for truck manufacturers to sell the chassis with the cabin having AC systems. Currently, the vehicle body builders fit the cabin. Since the AC system will require modifications, including of the vehicle dashboard, these would have to be put by the manufacturers themselves.
A survey of truck drivers across 10 states in 2020 by Save Life Foundation had found that almost 50% of the respondents said they drive vehicles even if they are feeling fatigued or sleepy. As per the survey findings on an average, each driver spends about 11.9 hours in a day behind the wheels.
The latest government data of 2021 on road crashes show that while 9,382 truck occupants were killed, trucks were responsible for the death of 30,406 persons, which is 41.4% of all the deaths.
source by : the times of india
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