Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has once again extended the deadline for implementation of the Vehicle Location Tracking Devices (VLTD) and panic buttons in the state.
As per a notification issued by the Commerce and Transport department, the deadline for applicability of VLTD has been revised by the government after reviewing the available infrastructure and enlistment of device suppliers in the state.
The department had initially issued a notification in September, 2022 saying VLTD will be implemented by April, 2023. However, later it extended the deadline for the same by three months, till June 30, 2023.
However, the department has again extended the deadline now. The notification said that the specified vehicles registered on or after October 1, 2023 will have to comply with the requirement at the time of registration.
Similarly, the specified vehicles registered on or before September 30, 2023 shall have to comply with the requirement by December 31, 2023, it said.
The state government has decided to implement the system in pursuance of the directions issued by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in 2018. The requirements have been specified under CMVR, 1989 rule.
The objective of VLTD is to have a tracking system for continuous monitoring of public transport vehicles for better passenger safety, road safety, and better support for enforcement services. The installation of VLTD will not apply in the case of two-wheeler & three-wheeler vehicles, and e-rickshaws, sources said.
It is a GPRS-based device to track the real-time location of the vehicle. This will also indicate the direction of the vehicle and even its speed. The device will also have a panic button for the passengers. When pressed, it will send an SOS to the nearest police station, RTO, and the owner of the vehicle. The Centre has been pushing the states for VLTD in commercial vehicles over the last few years.
The vehicle location tracking (VLT) device and panic button were first introduced by Indian Auto Company (IAC) in Kerala in May, 2019.
In case of emergency, if the driver or passenger of the vehicle presses the panic button, the autrhorities concerned will be immediately alerted so that help can reach him immediately. This gadget can be installed in trucks and buses. Besides helping the people in distress, the devices will help the authorities to keep track on their speed.
