Indian trucks to get a humane upgrade, will have AC cabins from 2025

The lifeline of India is all set to become a chilled experience. Driving trucks for long hours in Indian climes, a daunting and excruciating task, will become easier, come 2025. The Indian Government has made it mandatory for all truck cabins to be air-conditioned starting 2025. Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said that in India, some drivers are behind the wheels for 12 or 14 hours whereas other countries have a restriction on the number of hours bus and truck drivers can be on duty. “Our drivers operate vehicles in temperatures of 43 to 47 degree and we must imagine the condition of drivers,” the minister said, adding that there was a need to address issues regarding the working conditions and state of mind of truck drivers. He further said that drivers play a key role in the transport sector, which is one of the most important areas for India as the fastest growing large economy in the world. As per reports, long hours driving and strenuous work conditions have been some of the key reasons for driver fatigue and accidents. “I was keen to introduce the AC cabin after I became minister. But some people opposed it saying the cost will go up. Today (Monday), I have signed the file that all truck cabins will be AC cabins,” Gadkari said. The minister announced that he has approved a proposal to make ACs mandatory with officials saying that a transition period of 18 months was necessary for the industry to upgrade. A report by ToI quoted an official from the ministry saying the industry had demanded that the provision should be optional with some of them claiming that the drivers may feel sleepy in AC cabins. “We always had the same notion about bus drivers and the drivers’ cabins were non-AC for years. But the introduction of Volvo buses ended that perception and now all luxury buses have AC cabins for drivers as well,” the ministry official said. How AC cabins will help truck drivers? The move was first proposed by the road transport ministry in 2016. Already, high-end trucks that are manufactured by global players such as Volvo and Scania already come fitted with air conditioned cabins, Indian manufactures are yet make such heavy vehicles. The mandatory AC cabins in trucks will help reducing drivers’ exposure to extreme heat conditions during their journeys. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.