From Sept 1, seat belts must for front seat passengers in heavy vehicles including KSRTC buses

Thiruvanathapuram: Seat belts will be made compulsory in the front seats of all heavy vehicles from September 1.

The driver and passengers on the front seats will have to wear a seat belt to avoid penalty, Transport Minister Antony Raju said on Thursday.

The rule will be applicable to all heavy vehicles including KSRTC and private buses.

Though seat belts were mandatory in heavy vehicles as per central law, the state had given a concession in this regard.

Owners have been given time till September to install seat belts in their respective vehicles. Both passengers in the front seat of trucks must wear seat belts.

If buses have a cabin, both passengers in the front are expected to wear seat belts. If it is a bus without a cabin, the driver must wear a seat belt. Even KSRTC buses with old fashioned seats will need to attach seat belts.

The meeting also evaluated the functioning of the AI surveillance cameras installed as part of the road safety project. Keltron was instructed to take steps to dispatch more challans. More staff will be assigned to check images of violations.

A request will also be generated to ensure more user IDs and passwords are generated to send footage to the NIC's server.

The meeting assessed that the functioning of the AI cameras is satisfactory. Challan and SMS could not be sent for several days due to a technical glitch by the NIC. The NIC will be asked to take precautions to avoid a repetition of the glitch. No decision was taken regarding the repair of the cameras damaged by the vehicle in Vadakkencherry.

Meanwhile, Minister Antony Raju directed that VIP vehicles should not be exempted from fines. So far 56 VIP vehicles have been seized for violating the law. Ministers' vehicles are not included in this list.