Hyderabad: At a time when road safety is under focus amid spike in accidents, a worrying lapse has come to light – nearly half the ambulances in the state are operating without mandatory fitness checks.Data accessed by TOI reveals that of over 10,000 registered ambulances, both govt and private, around 5,400 lack valid fitness certificates. Moreover, nearly 30% of these unfit vehicles have already crossed their 15-year lifespan.As per the Motor Vehicles (MV) Act, ambulances must undergo annual fitness inspections, covering critical components such as brakes, tyres, lights (including emergency lights), windshields, wipers, retro-reflective tapes and emission norms. However, enforcement appears weak, with only 275 vehicles booked so far for non-compliance by the Regional Transport Authority (RTA).The issue raises serious concerns about patient safety, especially during emergencies. Just last month, an ambulance on the Hyderabad–Vijayawada highway lost control and crashed into a stationary truck near Vanasthalipuram, leaving two patients and the driver critically injured while they were being shifted to a private hospital for treatment. Moreover, a patient was trapped in the vehicle’s cabin.Police say the issue is more widespread among privately operated ambulances, especially those attached to smaller hospitals and diagnostic centres, where maintenance is often delayed to cut costs. Previous enforcement drives had uncovered multiple violations, from drivers operating under the influence of alcohol, to those without valid licences, and even cases where small vehicles were illegally converted into ambulances, they said.“Misuse is rampant, with nearly 90% ambulances in Hyderabad reportedly using sirens and flashing lights for non-emergency purposes, such as transporting bodies, ferrying samples to labs or staff to hospitals. We will tighten checks to identify unfit and non-compliant ambulances,” DCP (traffic), Hyderabad, Rahul Hegde said.Experts stress that fitness certification is not a formality but a critical safety requirement. Weak monitoring and lax inspections have allowed unsafe vehicles to remain on the roads unchecked.“Since ambulances are rarely stopped for routine checks, many operators bypass compliance altogether. There is a need to have joint enforcement drives by RTA and traffic police, urging authorities to ensure that only fully compliant and roadworthy ambulances are allowed to operate,” NGO Indian Federation of Road Safety co-founder Vinod Kanumala said.
