Speed limits on expressways, national highways set to go up, hints Nitin Gadkari

Speed limits on expressways and national highways in India could go be increased in coming days. Speaking at an event on Thursday, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that newly laid network of high-speed expressways and highways are equipped to handle more speeds than what is currently prescribed. According to Gadkari, lower speed limit on such roads pose challenges for commuters. His remarks came as the Centre is trying to formulate new laws regarding speed limits after discussing the matter with respective states. However, there is no deadline on when this will actually be implemented.

Currently, some of the expressways in India allow speed limits of up to 120 kmph for light vehicles like cars. The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and the Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressways are some of the places where cars are allowed to hit 120 kmph. Most others, including national highways have a speed limit of 100 kmph or lower. The current speed limit was set by the Centre in 2018 through a notification.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), which Gadkari heads, is responsible to set speed limits. The effort to increase speed limit is part of its process to improve safety and efficiency of India's massive road network. However, the Centre needs to have all the states on board to implement the new speed limits. The states, for their part, are empowered to take a final call on speed limit on section of expressway or highway passing through its border.

According to Gadkari, new speed limits will be formulated based on the type of roads. It could vary depending on whether it's an access control highways, 8-lane, 6-lane, 4-lane or 2-lane highway. Gadkari said the Centre is ready to discuss the matter with respective states before finalising new speed limits. He said, “Now the situation is such that the highways are good, but the speed limits have not changed. I am calling the transport ministers of states. We will prepare new speed limit norms, and you (people) will soon get relief," he said.

Gadkari's remark comes at a time when overspeeding has been the biggest killer on Indian roads. Despite security arrangements like CCTVs and speed cameras in place, commuters are often seen flouting speed limits on expressways and highways. According to a report released by the ministry, over two-third of road accident victims who died in 2021 were involved in cases of overspeeding. The report stated that there were nearly three lakh road accidents that took place in 2021 due to overspeeding, in which more than 1.07 lakh people died. In 2019, the year before Covid restrictions kicked in, around 71 per cent of the 4.49 lakh road accidents in the country were due to overspeeding.

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