The installation of anti-lock braking systems (ABS) will become mandatory starting April 2015, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has said. While this deadline applies to new trucks and buses, the deadline for on-road vehicles to get ABS fitted is October 2015.

As per the proposed law, ABS will be mandatory for vehicles classified in the N3 (trucks above 12 tonnes GVW) and M3 (buses above five tonnes and nine passengers) categories. At present, ABS is mandatory for vehicles carrying petroleum and explosive items. Since 2006, ABS has been obligatory for 40- and 49-tonne tractor-trailers.

Commercial vehicle OEMs in India offer ABS as optional rather than a standard feature. Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, the subsidiary of global truck maker Daimler, is pleased with the government’s decision, a spokesperson said, “The move by the government to enhance safety is definitely welcome for the benefit of customers and general public at large.” DICV has been offering ABS systems as an optional feature in its range of BharatBenz heavy duty trucks.

The decision will benefit suppliers of ABS. P Kaniappan, wholetime director of Wabco India, said, “This decision was long overdue. ABS as a technology is extremely proven globally and certainly facilitates lesser accidents as it reduces the possibility of vehicle skidding during panic braking. It reduces the stopping distance significantly.” Wabco is a global leader in braking solutions for CVs and supplies ABS to major OEMs in India. Knorr-Bremse is also a prominent ABS supplier.

The installation of ABS is expected to lower India’s notoriously high road accident and causality rate that is among the world’s highest. Reports suggest that 78 percent of accidents in India are due to bad driving and of the total number of accidents recorded, trucks and buses account over 32 percent.

All developed countries have ABS as a standard feature for all commercial vehicles. Moreover, markets similarly to India such as Brazil and China’s have successfully implemented ABS for commercial vehicles. It is estimated that, in the European Community, equipping of all trucks and buses with electronic systems including ABS, EBS (electronic braking systems) to ESP (electronic stability program) and ACC (adaptive cruise control) could result in substantially fewer deaths and injuries due to road accidents every year.