Speed Management Transforms Road Safety Strategy

With road crashes claiming over 1.7 lakh lives annually in India, speed management has been identified as the single most effective intervention to reverse this deadly trend. During National Road Safety Month 2026, leading experts, policymakers, and researchers convened at IIT Delhi for a groundbreaking national seminar that addressed the urgent need to recalibrate speed limits across Indian roads. Organized by the Road Safety Network (RSN) in partnership with IIT Delhi and IIT Kharagpur, the comprehensive forum brought together road safety researchers, enforcement officials, urban planners, and civil society organizations to develop evidence-based solutions for maximum speed limits on National Highways and urban roads. The consensus was clear: immediate regulatory action on speed management represents a low-cost, high-impact strategy that can save thousands of lives without requiring years of infrastructure development.

India's Alarming Road Fatality Statistics

India records over 1.7 lakh road fatalities annually, making road crashes one of the leading causes of death in the country. Speeding is consistently identified as the primary risk factor, contributing to more than 70% of these fatalities. Despite rapid expansion of road infrastructure across the country, speed limits have not been recalibrated to reflect the realities of mixed traffic conditions, human injury tolerance levels, and the safety needs of vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists, and two-wheeler riders.

This misalignment between road design, posted speed limits, and actual traffic composition has created dangerous conditions that claim thousands of lives every year, particularly affecting those with the least protection on our roads.

National Highways: The Deadliest 2% of Roads

Disproportionate Fatality Rates

While National Highways constitute just 2% of India's road network, they account for over 36% of road fatalities, according to data presented at the seminar. This alarming statistic reveals a critical safety crisis on the country's primary arterial routes.

"Speeding is the biggest risk factor, especially for vulnerable road users," said Professor Bhargab Maitra from the Civil Engineering Department at IIT Kharagpur and Member of Road Safety Network. "Lowering maximum speed limits, along with stronger enforcement, greater awareness, and improved emergency response, is critical to saving lives."

Root Causes of Highway Crashes

The first session of the seminar focused intensively on National Highway safety, identifying several interconnected factors that increase crash severity:

• High operating speeds combined with heterogeneous traffic mixing

• Frequent access points creating conflict zones

• Roadside activity from commercial establishments and settlements

• Inadequate protection for pedestrians and two-wheeler riders

• Mixed land use along highway corridors

Experts cautioned against treating highways purely as high-speed corridors, particularly when they pass through or near human settlements. Instead, speed limits must reflect road function, surrounding land use, and traffic composition—not just vehicle capability.

Recommended Speed Limits for Different Road Types

Global Best Practices Applied to India

David Cliff, Chief Executive Officer of the Global Road Safety Partnership in Geneva, Switzerland, highlighted that even modest speed reductions can significantly lower fatalities and injuries. He presented evidence-based recommendations aligned with international best practices:

• 30 km/h maximum in cities and residential areas

• Under 80 km/h on rural roads with mixed traffic

• 100 km/h on controlled-access expressways only

• Strict enforcement mechanisms tied to these limits

Current Speed Limit Framework

Currently, India's maximum speed limits are set at 120 km/h on expressways, 100 km/h on highways, and up to 70 km/h on urban roads. These limits have raised serious concerns among safety experts about their appropriateness in densely populated areas with diverse road user types.

Urban Road Safety Challenges

The Urban Fatality Crisis

Speeding continues to claim thousands of lives in Indian cities annually. According to the 2023 MoRTH report, more than 17,000 people (17,255) were killed and over 73,000 (73,476) were injured in 50 million-plus cities alone.

Contrary to popular belief, most fatal crashes in urban areas occur on wide arterial roads, flyovers, and signal-free corridors, particularly during low-traffic hours when drivers feel emboldened to exceed safe speeds.

The 50 km/h Urban Limit

Professor Geetam Tiwari from IIT Delhi and the TRIP Centre emphasized the critical need for rational speed limits in urban contexts: "Global evidence is clear that 50 km/h is the absolute maximum safe speed in urban areas. In India, there's often a gap between road design, speed limit implementation, and public compliance. Effective enforcement combined with better road planning is key."

Participants called for a maximum 50 km/h limit on urban roads, with even lower limits in residential areas, school zones, and pedestrian-dense streets. Research shows that lower speeds improve not just safety but also liveability, public health, and environmental outcomes, without significantly affecting commute times in congested urban environments.

Protecting Vulnerable Road Users

Pedestrians, cyclists, and two-wheeler riders account for the majority of urban road crash victims in India. At higher speeds, the chances of survival in a collision drop dramatically. The physics of crashes reveals that:

• At 30 km/h, pedestrians have a 90% survival rate

• At 50 km/h, survival drops to approximately 50%

• At 65 km/h and above, survival becomes highly unlikely

Professor P. K. Sikdar, advisor to the International Road Federation (India Chapter) and former Professor at IIT Mumbai, noted: "Under-reporting of speeding-related crashes and high motorcycle fatalities continue to mask the true scale of India's road safety problem. With nearly 60% of serious crashes occurring at intersections, speed management and context-sensitive road design are critical."

Beyond Enforcement: The Role of Road Design

Limitations of Enforcement-Only Approaches

Dr. Kayitha Ravinder, Chief Scientist at CSIR-CRRI, emphasized a crucial point: "Enforcement alone cannot solve speeding, especially in cities. Police cannot be present everywhere, and issuing fines without redesigning streets has limited impact. Evidence-based speed limits combined with road design interventions are the most reliable way to reduce fatalities."

Design-Based Speed Management

The seminar highlighted that road design plays a critical role in ensuring compliance with speed limits. Effective interventions include:

• Traffic calming measures like speed humps and chicanes

• Lane narrowing to reduce perceived safe speeds

• Self-explaining streets where design naturally communicates appropriate speeds

• Protected infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists

• Context-sensitive design reflecting surrounding land use

Policy Recommendations and Next Steps

Participants emphasized that revising speed limits is a low-cost, high-impact regulatory action that can be implemented immediately, unlike infrastructure-heavy interventions requiring long timelines and substantial budgets.

The seminar outcomes will be compiled into a formal policy submission by the Road Safety Network to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, urging the adoption of evidence-based speed limits as a core pillar of India's national road safety strategy.