India Unveils Landmark Safety Mandate for Heavy Commercial Vehicles
India's Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has announced transformative safety regulations for medium and heavy-duty commercial vehicles, representing one of the most comprehensive overhauls of truck safety standards in the nation's history. The phased implementation, rolling out between 2025 and 2028, addresses critical safety gaps that have contributed to thousands of preventable road deaths annually.
The regulatory package targets braking performance, electronic stability, advanced driver assistance systems, and driver welfare, creating a multifaceted approach to commercial vehicle safety that addresses both technological deficiencies and human factors.
Central to the reforms is a significant upgrade to braking requirements. The revised braking standard IS 11852:2019, previously applicable only to buses manufactured by original equipment makers, now extends to trucks effective 1 October 2027. This expansion ensures consistent stopping performance across the heavy vehicle fleet.
Electronic Stability Control systems become compulsory for trucks from the same date, providing critical intervention during braking on curves and in adverse conditions. ESC technology has proven highly effective in preventing rollover accidents and loss of control incidents that frequently involve laden commercial vehicles on India's diverse road network.
Perhaps most significantly, Advanced Emergency Braking Systems will be mandated from October 2027. AEBS enables automatic braking when drivers fail to respond to imminent collisions, either preventing crashes entirely or substantially reducing impact severity. Global safety data demonstrates that AEBS can reduce rear-end collisions by up to 40 percent, making it one of the most effective active safety technologies available.
From 1 January 2028, trucks must incorporate Blind Spot Information Systems and Moving Off Information Systems. These technologies specifically protect vulnerable road users including pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists who often remain invisible to drivers of large vehicles. The systems represent crucial progress in addressing the disproportionate risk heavy vehicles pose in mixed-traffic urban environments where vulnerable road users account for the majority of fatalities.
Driver fatigue, a leading contributor to commercial vehicle crashes, receives targeted attention. Driver Drowsiness Detection and Alert Systems become mandatory from January 2028, monitoring driver behavior and providing warnings when signs of fatigue appear. Lane Departure Warning Systems, also required from January 2028, alert drivers when vehicles unintentionally drift from their intended path.
In a complementary measure already effective from 1 October 2025, mandatory air conditioning fitment in truck cabins recognizes that thermal comfort proves essential to maintaining driver alertness during long-haul operations across India's often extreme climatic conditions.
The regulatory transformation receives support from expanded driver training infrastructure. The government continues expanding its network of Institutes of Driving Training and Research, Regional Driving Training Centres, and Driving Training Centres nationwide, ensuring professional drivers receive proper instruction in operating increasingly sophisticated vehicles.
A groundbreaking Cashless Treatment Scheme for road accident victims, notified in May 2025, provides treatment coverage up to Rs 1.5 lakh per victim for seven days following accidents. The scheme guarantees stabilization treatment at designated hospitals, ensuring immediate medical intervention can prevent deaths from treatable injuries.
Existing regulations complement the new mandates. Goods vehicles undergo cabin structural strength testing, while reverse parking alert systems, reflective tape, and under-run protective devices already feature as standard requirements.
India's comprehensive approach, combining active safety technologies, passive protection systems, driver welfare measures, training investment, and emergency medical care, establishes a benchmark for rapidly motorizing nations. As regulations take effect over the next two years, they promise to significantly reduce road crash deaths involving heavy commercial vehicles on one of the world's most challenging road networks.
