Centre to tighten bus body code, enable vehicle-to-vehicle communication
To boost road safety measures, the Centre has decided to tighten the bus body code following a spate of fatal accidents, while also planning to roll out technology-led vehicle-to-vehicle communication systems.
Speaking after the 43rd meeting of the Transport Development Council, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said the move to tighten the bus body code follows concerns over poor bus design and the use of substandard materials.
Lately, the country has witnessed six major bus accidents in the last three months, resulting in 145 deaths.
The decisions were outlined during a two-day meeting of Transport Ministers of States and Union Territories held on January 7 and 8.
Cashless treatment for accident victims
Apart from regulatory measures, Gadkari said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will soon inaugurate a nationwide cashless treatment scheme for road accident victims.
Notably, the Centre reviewed preparedness for the rollout of the cashless treatment scheme, under which all road accident victims on any road will be eligible for cashless medical treatment of up to ₹1.5 lakh for a maximum period of seven days.
The scheme has seen pilots in Assam, Chandigarh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Puducherry and Uttar Pradesh.
“The new scheme would provide cashless treatment to all road accident victims at designated hospitals,” Gadkari said.
“It will also offer cover even to victims of uninsured vehicles so that immediate medical attention is not denied,” the minister said after the meeting with Transport Ministers of States and Union Territories.
On the bus body code, the revised norms, he said, will mandate all manufacturers to obtain type approval from authorised testing agencies, replacing the earlier self-certification system followed by manual bus body builders.
Besides, the Centre will pursue a broader policy push to strengthen the road transport regulatory framework through institutionalised forensic crash investigations.
Forensic crash probe framework
As part of the forensic crash investigation framework, sleeper coach buses will now be permitted to be manufactured only by automobile companies, while bus manufacturing facilities will be accredited by the Central government agencies.
Meanwhile, existing buses will be required to be retrofitted with safety features such as fire detection systems, emergency exits with hammers, emergency lighting and driver drowsiness indicators.
To further boost technology-led safety measures, state government representatives were briefed on the proposed rollout of vehicle-to-vehicle communication.
In technical parlance, this is a wireless technology that allows vehicles to exchange real-time information such as speed, location and braking through an on-board unit.
As per techno-economic parameters, the system will cost ₹5,000–₹7,000 per four-wheeler and will provide early warnings to drivers, including alerts when a vehicle ahead brakes suddenly, while also helping identify vehicles in blind spots.
Presently, a joint task force has been formed with the Department of Telecommunications, which has agreed in principle to allocate 30 megahertz spectrum in the 5.875–5.905 gigahertz band for this purpose.
“Vehicle-to-Vehicle communication is presently available in select countries. This system will allow vehicles to communicate with each other using radio signals on their own without going into the network,” said V Umashankar, Secretary in the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH).
“This system is expected to have very positive impact on road safety for vehicles.”
Several changes planned
Furthermore, the Centre announced the rollout of the ‘Zero Fatality Districts Programme’, beginning with 100 districts that record the highest number of road accidents.
The programme will involve scientific analysis of crash data to identify high-risk corridors, junctions, road user groups and time patterns.
Additionally, accessibility standards for public transport were reviewed during the meeting.
In this regard, the meeting took a decision to make all city buses ‘Divyangjan-friendly’ (differently abled).
Under the decision, city buses will be required to have low-floor designs, hydraulic kneeling systems, ramps, lifts, wheelchairs and additional support handles.
In addition, the government is preparing to place a set of proposed amendments to the ‘Motor Vehicles Act’ before Parliament in the coming session.
A total of 61 amendments have been drafted, focusing on road safety, ease of doing business, citizen services, amongst others.
Moreover, the meeting reviewed progress under the new driving training policy launched in January 2025, on the implementation of ‘Bharat New Car Assessment Programme’ 2.0 and the introduction of ‘Advanced Driver Assistance Systems’ in trucks and buses.
The Centre also reviewed the implementation of the vehicle scrapping policy.
At present, under the policy, 3.94 lakh vehicles have been scrapped by December 2025, including 1.65 lakh government vehicles and 2.29 lakh private vehicles.
The policy has attracted private sector investment of ₹2,700 crore.
Published on January 8, 2026
