Long-Nose Trucks Making A Comeback, Decision Rests With The Centre
The Indian government is planning to bring back the long-nose trucks in India. The long-nose trucks, prominent in the 1990s, is a design of trucks that have a protruding hood and engine in front of the driver. The modern truck on sale in the Indian market has a modern look and has, most of the time, its engine placed under the driver's cabin. Now, V Umashankar, Union Road Transport and Highway Secretary, has hinted that the Long-nose truck may be back on the Indian roads.
Long-nose trucks are likely to be back in India
During the Urban Adda 2025, a three-day urban mobility conference organized in Delhi, V Umashankar explained that driving is based on sensory perceptions, and when the driver is sitting above the engine and the hood, it allows him a few extra seconds to calculate the space and time and reduce the risk. Also, this alteration can give drivers a better scope for responding swiftly.
While the flat-nose trucks and the long-nose trucks have their share of advantages and disadvantages. The flat-nose trucks give a better seating space to the drivers, along with better vision of the road. On the other hand, the long-nose trucks might kill much of the cabin space but tend to offer a better overview of the vehicles running ahead of the truck.
Umashankar said the ministry will soon commence the consultations with truck manufacturers and other stakeholders to facilitate the transition. Also, he hinted that even if the decision to roll out the nose-long truck is enforced, it will at least take two years for the manufacturers to restructure the assembly line and comply.
Umashakar also said that the government is also planning the possibility of introduce puller-trailers in India to enhance freight efficiency and reduce logistics costs.
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