Volvo Buses In Tamil Nadu To Get New Safety Features

By Ganesh

Updated: Tuesday, December 10, 2013, 15:35 [IST]

New safety features will soon be put in place in all Volvo buses in Tamil Nadu. The decision was taken post a meeting held between the Tamil Nadu state transport officials and representatives from Volvo on Thursday. The development comes in the light of the recent accidents involving Volvo buses which caught fire resulting in deaths of several passengers.

Also Read: Volvo Bus Emergency Exit & Safety Instructions

As reported by TOI, Volvo has agreed to include the following additional safety features, henceforth, in all their couches operated by the state and private operators.

Fire resistant electronic event recorder (similar to an aircraft's black box).
Speed governors to limit top speed to 85 kmph
Smoke detectors
All windows will be breakable (right now only four windows can be broken)
Number of hammers to break windows will go up from 4 to 8.
Radium stickers to guide passengers towards emergency exits.

Besides inclusion of new safety features by Volvo, bus operators will also be required to follow a few new rules, which are are follows.

Drivers will not be made to drive for more than 150km at a stretch.
The company and operators will provide manuals for each seat explaining the safety and emergency procedures.
Bus operators will play a safety instruction video before the start of the journey.

Tamil Nadu Transport Commissioner Prabhakara Rao has stated that he'll next hold meetings with other bus manufacturers such as Ashok Leyland, Tata, Eicher and Daimler.

Tamil Nadu has become the first state to implement new safety features in luxury buses. Other states are expected to follow soon.