MARGAO: Taxi owners from Benaulim and neighboring areas have voiced concerns over the challenges associated with installing speed governors, urging the government to reevaluate Section 118 of the Motor Vehicle Act.
In a memorandum addressed to the Minister for Transport, they say it is a foregone conclusion that speed governors are the need of the hour, and although they are in the taxi business, not everyone religiously follows speed limits.
Valencio Savio Goes, a taxi owner from Benaulim, highlighted the chaos and confusion within the Goa Transport Department regarding the selection of reliable speed governors. “In this confusion, small-time hawkers and middlemen are making a fast buck and running away,” he said.
He claimed that in the recent past, many of them have invested in speed governors which immediately stop working upon installation. “And with the dealers disappearing, taxi owners are the total losers, with no answers to give when RTO personnel stop us on the roads and fine us,” he added.
Goes drew attention to Section 118 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, which places the responsibility of equipping vehicles with speed governors or speed limiting devices on manufacturers or dealerships. However, he noted the absence of available speed governors in the market, leading to unjust penalties imposed by RTO officials.
“The RTO has taken liberty to penalise taxi drivers when there are no reliable speed governors available in the market. There is no way that we, as the common man, can arrange for the same. In this situation, we pray that the RTO officials on the road be instructed to refrain from penalising taxis for non-compliance with installing speed governors because they are simply not available in the market,” asserted the taxi owners.
In light of these challenges, taxi owners from Benaulim urged the Transport Department to engage with vehicle manufacturers to ensure compliance with Section 118. Appealing to the Goa government not to rush the installation of speed governors, they emphasised the importance of seeking expert opinion.
