On Indian roads, every extra kilometre per hour can turn a close call into a life-changing crash. Speed continues to be the biggest behavioural risk, contributing to the largest share of crashes and fatalities. In 2023 alone, over-speeding was responsible for 68.4% of road accidents (3,28,727) and 68.07% of fatalities (1,17,682), according to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).
The link between speed and the severity of crashes is clear: the human body can only withstand a certain level of kinetic energy in a collision. If the impact speed goes beyond a safe limit, the chance of serious or fatal injury rises dramatically. With over-speeding remaining the top cause of crashes in India, effective speed management is one of the feasible measures which can be implemented immediately to save lives.
What falls short in setting speed limits and enforcement in India
India has a comprehensive legislative framework to regulate speed. The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 empowers the Central Government to set maximum and minimum speed limits for expressways, highways, and urban or rural stretches, while also allowing state governments to adapt these limits to local conditions such as land use, road users, and weather.
Since speeding is generally measured against the posted speed limits, the process of setting these limits is critical for improving safety. Traditionally, speed limits on Indian roads have been set based on road engineering aspects and/or administrative discretion, considering the classification of roads and vehicle categories, with limited consideration for road safety, land-use patterns, and the diversity of road users.
Further, current guidelines of the Indian Roads Congress (IRC) and MoRTH do not adequately account for Indian road realities. A highway designed for high-speed travel may still be surrounded by markets, pedestrians, or slow-moving vehicles. Lane discipline is rarely followed, and many high-speed corridors are not fully access-controlled, making them more complex than their design suggests. In addition, as land use and road conditions evolve over time, these speed limits may no longer reflect realities on the ground and thus demand periodic assessment.
However, as per current practice, a few targeted measures exist only in sensitive areas. For example, the Motor Vehicles (Driving) Regulation, 2017 prescribes a 25 km/h limit in school zones, near hospitals, construction sites, or on stretches without footpaths. Similarly, the Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR), 1989 set limits for different vehicle categories—for instance, capping a two-wheeler carrying a child below four years at 40 km/h. The Supreme Court has also directed that school transport vehicles must not exceed 40 km/h.
Yet enforcement remains inconsistent, particularly around schools near high-speed roads, putting children at heightened risk. In participatory road safety audits conducted by the Centre for Environment Education (CEE) of school zones in Jorhat, Pune, and Ahmedabad districts, it was found that speed limits in school zones are implemented inadequately, often exceeding the safe limit of 25 km/h. This underscores the need to strengthen enforcement as a priority for schools situated within 500 meters of high-speed roads, such as national and state highways.
This also highlights the importance of “safe speed limits”—limits determined not only by road design, but also by traffic behaviour, road engineering, and the surrounding environment. Such an approach would allow India to align speed management with ground realities, significantly reducing fatalities and creating safer roads for all.
The Case for Science-Backed Speed Management
India has made commendable progress under the National Road Safety Policy—investing in safer roads, better post-crash care, safer vehicles, and stronger enforcement, yet these measures take time to deliver results. There is a strong need to adopt scientific and evidence-based speed management policies and solutions to further enhance road safety in the country.
One decision that can have an immediate impact is reducing speed limits. Even a small reduction in speed can make a significant difference in crash outcomes. Global and local evidence underscores this: for every 1 km/h drop in mean speed, the risk of fatal crashes falls by 3–4%. Secondly, the fatality risk for pedestrian increases sharply as speed increases: at 30 km/h, the fatality risk is just 10%, while at 70 km/h, it exceeds 90%. Nonetheless, lower speeds also widen a driver’s field of vision, shorten stopping distances, and reduce both the likelihood and the severity of crashes.
The benefits extend further: Lowering of speed limits is often opposed due to the prejudice that such a measure would increase travel time and congestion. However, research shows that any increase in travel times and congestion due to a lower speed limit are likely to be negligible, and in some cases, the outcomes could even be positive due to removal of bottlenecks.
Drawing from global practices, India could adopt interim caps such as 100 km/h on national highways and 50 km/h in urban areas—benchmarks consistent with many Asian and European countries, along with Canada, and Australia. Vulnerable groups, particularly children, require focused attention. Walking or cycling to school should never put young lives at risk, yet many schools remain dangerously close to high-speed corridors. Building safer pedestrian and cycling infrastructure around these routes is essential.
The West Bengal Example
For long-term impact, setting speed signs alone is not enough. India needs a comprehensive speed management policy—one that includes clear national guidelines, strict penalties, robust enforcement, state-level action plans, and district-level committees for local implementation. Enforcement must be visible and consistent, while public support is equally critical; communities must come to view speeding as socially unacceptable for any real and lasting behavioural change.
A practical example of this approach comes from West Bengal, where improved road infrastructure was accompanied by higher vehicle speeds and a rise in crash risk. To address this, the state government, with inputs from IIT Kharagpur, introduced new safe speed limits designed not only around road design but also around traffic conditions, the surrounding environment, and the proven link between speed and crash severity. This marks one of the country’s first data-driven, scientific efforts to manage speed effectively.
West Bengal’s approach is context-specific. In urban areas, the maximum speed is capped at 50 km/h, with lower limits of 30–40 km/h for residential stretches, market areas, and roads with frequent intersections. Rural roads have limits ranging from 30 km/h—where pedestrians and cyclists are most at risk—to 80 km/h or higher on dual carriageways with proper lane usage. All school zones, urban or rural, now carry a 25 km/h limit.
These limits were established after considering global best practices, driver behaviour, enforcement feasibility, and India’s traffic realities. Implementation involves multiple departments—from transport and police to education, health, and road authorities—coordinated under state and district-level committees. Their work includes safe speed audits, crash data analysis, electronic monitoring & enforcement, and awareness campaigns targeting school children, truck and bus drivers, and two-wheeler riders. Pilot projects across road types have already been taken up to demonstrate the policy’s effectiveness.
This holistic, evidence-based approach shows how speed management can evolve from just ‘setting of posted speed limits’ to an integrated speed management system that combines engineering, enforcement, education, and collaboration—a model for a national scientific speed management policy.
Towards Safer Roads
India stands at a decisive moment in shaping the future of road safety. The path forward is not just about setting speed limits, but about reimagining mobility, where safety is as central as connectivity and convenience. As cities expand and rural networks grow, a forward-looking speed management strategy backed by science and evidence, will ensure that progress does not come at the cost of lives. By acting today, India can build roads where safety becomes second nature—protecting its people while enabling mobility for generations to come.
Authored by:
Amarnath Karan, Scientist SE & Senior Programme Coordinator, Sustainable Urban Development Programmes, Centre for Environment Education (CEE), and RSN Partner
Abhishek Chakraborty, Road Safety Auditor & Research Scholar, Traffic Engineering Lab, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Kharagpur, and RSN Partner