The government will consider changing maximum speed limit on National Highways once there is road discipline amongst drivers, Union Road Transport and Highways Secretary Anurag Jain stated on Thursday. He said the government is not in favor of increasing the maximum speed limit on National Highways.
Many nations are now decreasing the maximum speed on National Highways, Government is very sensitive about road safety at the moment, Jain said.
When asked about plans, Jain said, “We will consider increasing the speed limit only when road discipline improves in our country. I have advised the minister not to increase the speed limit at this time.” He highlighted the alarming number of road accidents in India, with over four lakh crashes and 1.5 lakh fatalities annually, as a major concern.
Though Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari had previously mentioned the possibility of raising speed limits, he recently spoke about the widespread violations of traffic rules at the Global Safety Conference. “Large-scale violations of traffic rules and lack of lane discipline are obstacles to increasing the speed limit, even on access-controlled highways. There is little fear or respect for the law,” Gadkari had remarked.
Recently, Nitin Gadkari, addressed the 64th annual conference of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) in New Delhi on Tuesday highlighting the alarming increase in road accidents in India. India leads the world in the number of accidents and related fatalities.
Gadkari, who has consistently advocated for road safety, urged Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to play an active role in reducing accidents. “There are nearly 53 accidents and 19 deaths every hour in our country. It’s staggering. Two-wheelers account for 45% of these accidents, and pedestrians are involved in 20%,” he noted.
The minister also encouraged the automotive industry to support the establishment of driver-training schools, emphasizing that properly trained drivers could be a key factor in reducing road accidents. “I sincerely request all of you to take an interest in starting driver-training schools. Training good drivers could be a real, positive solution,” Gadkari added.
