Maharashtra: Didn’t let driver sleep? Lose your tourist vehicle permit

The RTO action comes after the recent accident on the Samruddhi Mahamarg in Buldhana that killed 25 people. Pic/Waseem Shaikh

After the mishap that killed 25 people on the Samruddhi Mahamarg, the Maharashtra Transport Department has decided to act firmly against transport operators, aggregators and companies that force their drivers to do double or triple shifts, depriving them of sleep. Henceforth, if it is found while probing an accident that the driver was sleep deprived, the transport company that he works for, will lose its vehicle permits.

"Sleep is one of the key factors behind accidents. A sleep deprived driver is a killer on the road. Henceforth, if we find the cause of any mishap is a sleep-deprived driver, we will block his employer operators' tourist vehicle permits and permissions. The idea is to ensure that the drivers do not drive for more than 8-9 hours continuously," Maharashtra Transport Commissioner Vivek Bhimanwar said. In January 2019-May 2023, there have been 55,069 road accidents across the state.

Under MV rules

Transport officials said there have been complaints about drivers driving for long hours for 14-15 hours and since transport company operators or vehicle owners don't bother to check this aspect, the RTO will now intervene and act. The preventive action falls under the ambit of Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Rules and will not require any amendment. The Transport Department has already issued an internal circular about the same.

As per various studies done by the Transport Department, sleep deprivation and fatigue-induced accidents are one of the key reasons for accidents in the country.

Sleep detection sensors

The Transport Department in Maharashtra, along with the union transport ministry is working on sleep detection sensors on commercial vehicles at par with European standards. A device with the help of AI and a camera facing the driver, measures the drivers' eyelid movement, changes in steering grip and driver behaviour (including lane tracking), use of accelerator and brake, steering position and automatically sends out beeps and alerts to the driver.

"We are also working on such a device that will send alerts to the driver, if he catches forty winks. But the device is in the process of being standarised, and we are addressing over 400 queries that we have received from various stakeholders and manufacturers to make it effective," Bhimanwar said.