Manufacturers are pushing back against a proposal for installing fire alarms and sprinkler systems in passenger and school buses. The ministry of road transport and highways has once again extended the deadline for the implementation of fire safety systems following industry consultations. Manufacturers questioned the need and feasibility of installing such a system in India, when, they said, there was no precedent globally.
The original draft notification proposing the amendment to the Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR) was published in 2019, but the implementation deadline of October 2022 had to be pushed to January, and again to October. This followed resistance from the industry which has called the regulation “excessive”, three people in the know told Mint on condition of anonymity.
The industry, including manufacturers such as Tata Motors and Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles (VECV), cites marginal incremental benefit and additional costs of up to ₹1 lakh per bus if the rules are enforced. Bus makers are hoping that the CMVR committee will take up the issue soon, and that the draft notification will be reworked, senior industry executives said, not wanting to be named.
“Fire safety has two elements: safety of passengers and safety of the vehicle and people on the road. When it comes to occupant safety, one element is the safe exit of passengers in the event of fire versus the prevention of fire. It has been shown through various studies that if an alarm is sounded at an appropriate time when there is a likelihood of fire within the engine compartment, and there are preventive measures around safe exit, then you don’t need to deploy very expensive fire-resistant seat covers, leather and foam. All buses are already equipped with a fire suppression system that is at par with the best globally.
The suppression mechanism in the engine compartment is imperative for fire protection. It is essential to ensure that fire doesn’t happen at all because of poor maintenance, faulty design, short circuit, and other reasons”, an industry stakeholder, part of the consultations, said.
“We have to balance the safety regulations we mandate with affordability. Worldwide, there is no fire suppression system for occupants of the kind the notification had proposed. The industry is discussing cost and need, and what sort of system will be required. We represented to the government that the rule was overkill, and sought relief, which is happening in the form of deferment”, the official cited above added. Discussions around what can be a more pragmatic additional safety mechanism were held back due to the pandemic when bus sales had come to a halt, industry officials said, adding that there is consensus within the industry that the current draft notification presents multiple technological and cost challenges, and needs to be re-looked at in its entirety.
