Udupi police begin booking cases against buses not having doors, trucks lacking speed governor

Udupi police have begun filing cases against operators who fail to fix doors in their buses and owners of trucks not having a speed governor.

On January 28, Udupi Superintendent of Police Hariram Shankar informed mediapersons that the police checked a total of 1,100 buses, and booked 108 buses for not fixing doors. At the same time, 1,352 trucks transporting sand and laterite stone were checked, and 56 lorries were booked for not fixing a speed governor, and overloading.

Udupi police checking a truck for installation of speed governor and overloading during a drive held across the district on January 28, 2026.
| Photo Credit:
Photo supplied by police

The drive will continue in phases to implement decisions of Deputy Commissioner T. K. Swaroopa, who heads the District Road Traffic Authority and District Road Safety Authority.

Taking a serious view of accidents involving overloaded trucks transporting sand and laterite stone, the District Road Safety Authority on January 7 made fixing a speed governor mandatory for trucks transporting sand, laterite stones and other minerals. The speed limit for these vehicles within Udupi district was fixed at 60 kmph. The order was issued by Ms. Swaroopa by exercising the power vested in her under Rule 118 of Central Motor Vehicle Rules. The owners of the trucks were given 10 days to install speed governors.

Owners of buses were told to install doors, and ensure that they are closed while plying, by January 20.

Police have warned that cases will be filed against owners of buses and lorries if they fail to comply at the end of the deadline.

Mr. Shankar said the Regional Transport Authority is parallelly working on enforcement of rules pertaining to fixing doors and speed governors.

On January 29, Ms. Swaroopa chaired a meeting of city bus owners wherein various issues, including rationalisation of bus timing, were discussed.