Odisha Govt Makes Location Tracking Device & Panic Button Mandatory For Vehicles

Bhubaneswar: In order to facilitate medical care reach fast to the vehicles meeting accident, the Odisha government has decided to make it mandatory for the vehicles to have location tracking device and panic buttons.

In an official notification, the Commerce and Transport department said the state government has taken the decision 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 vehicles registered on or after January 1, 2023 must comply with the requirement at the time of registration and the specified vehicles registered on or before December 31, 2022 will have to comply with the requirement by December 31, 2023, the department stated.

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.

As per the Centra’s notification, it requires the states to set up an operation centre to urgently respond to emergency call from the vehicles fitted with the device.