Some buses in the Mysuru Urban Division of KSRTC come with safety features such as vehicle location tracking system and emergency panic button. | Photo credit: MA Sriram
Merely installing panic buttons, tracking devices or speed governors in transport vehicles may not serve any purpose unless there is a proper command and control center in every district and every state to monitor the movement of vehicles and other details, according to the Karnataka State Travel Operators Association.
Referring to the Supreme Court’s May 13 directive to all state governments and Union Territories to make mandatory installation of speed governors, vehicle position tracking devices (VLTDs) and emergency panic buttons in public transport vehicles, association president K. Radhakrishna Holla said that while the court’s intention was good, the biggest challenge in India was the effective implementation of the guidelines.
These systems require 24/7 live monitoring, a trained workforce, emergency response teams, integrated software systems, and strong accountability mechanisms. Without proper monitoring centers, many of these electronic security devices risk becoming mere compliance formalities, he said.
Command & Control Centers
Mr. Holla said India today has more than 40 million vehicles, nearly 6.5 million kilometers of road network and more than 800 districts. In such a massive and complex system, simply setting rules or installing electronic devices would not automatically ensure public safety.
As of 2019, the central government has allocated substantial funds (about ₹8,000 crore) for road safety projects, intelligent traffic management systems (ITMS), command and control centers and digital monitoring infrastructure. Still, serious questions remain about how many states have fully functional monitoring centers that operate effectively 24/7.
Data presented to the Supreme Court reveals that even after eight years of the mandate, less than 1% of public transport vehicles have properly functioning AVLTDs, showing a huge gap between policy announcements and actual implementation. Around ₹ 460 crore has been sanctioned specifically for state-wise vehicle tracking platforms, panic button systems, AIS-140 compliant VLTDS and integrated monitoring infrastructure.
Unified architecture
He said if the country really wants to reduce the number of accidents and deaths, it needs a unified national digital road safety architecture. All capital cities, districts, highways and urban centers should be linked through integrated command and control centers capable of real-time monitoring, emergency response coordination, accident evidence collection and live enforcement.
Common safety standards should apply not only to public transport vehicles, but also to private vehicles, commercial fleets, government vehicles and transport systems of individual departments. Vehicle manufacturers should be required to install advanced on-board safety technologies, vehicle-to-vehicle crash protection systems, automatic emergency braking (AEB), driver warning systems and live monitoring features at the manufacturing stage itself.
Published – 15 May 2026 09:51 IST
