As India continues to grapple with one of the world’s highest rates of road crash fatalities, several states are taking bold steps to implement context-based speed limits, signaling a major shift in road safety policy. Uttar Pradesh, which has consistently recorded the highest number of road fatalities over the past four years, is now set to formalize a statewide speed management policy modeled on initiatives already implemented in West Bengal. Experts say these measures could be a potential game-changer in reducing deaths and injuries on Indian roads.
For decades, India’s approach to speed limits relied primarily on road category classification, such as expressways, state highways, and city roads, without accounting for the surrounding context. The new paradigm, which West Bengal introduced in January 2025, emphasizes context-sensitive limits, particularly in areas with vulnerable road users. School zones may see limits as low as 25 kmph, while busy pedestrian corridors may be capped at 30 kmph. Uttar Pradesh’s proposed policy follows similar guidance, aiming to create a uniform, enforceable framework for safer travel across the state.
The initiative in UP gained momentum after a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the UP Transport Department and IIT-Kharagpur in September 2025. The MoU aimed to develop a comprehensive road safety action plan, with enforceable speed limits as its central pillar. A draft policy, prepared in consultation with IIT-Kharagpur experts, has been circulated among all road-owning agencies, including the traffic police and municipal authorities, for feedback.
Kinjal Singh, UP’s state transport commissioner, explained that the draft policy incorporates technical guidance to ensure that road limits are contextually appropriate, enforceable, and consistent with broader road safety objectives. “After incorporating the suggestions from different government departments, we will proceed towards formal adoption of the policy,” Singh said. Once approved, road-owning agencies will revise speed limits and take steps to institutionalize compliance.
The draft also proposes robust data-driven mechanisms. All accidents would be recorded in the Integrated Road Accident Database (iRAD) and analysed against the newly notified speed limits. This data-centric approach aims to identify accident-prone zones, prioritize interventions, and guide the deployment of speed cameras, traffic calming measures, and electronic enforcement tools. Public awareness campaigns and pilot projects in select districts are planned to test the effectiveness of these measures before a full-scale rollout.
The need for such interventions is starkly evident in recent statistics. In Uttar Pradesh, road fatalities rose from 21,227 in 2021 to 24,118 in 2024, while national fatalities increased from 153,972 to 177,177 during the same period. West Bengal, although reporting fewer deaths, also experienced an upward trend, with fatalities rising from 5,800 in 2021 to 6,678 in 2024. Crucially, nationwide data presented in Parliament indicated that 70% of road crash deaths in 2024 were linked to overspeeding, highlighting the urgency of speed management reforms.
West Bengal’s experience offers a practical blueprint for implementation. The state adopted urban speed limits of 50 kmph, with lower limits in high-risk areas—25 kmph near schools and 30 kmph in market zones. Kolkata, in particular, has rolled out a four-tier speed regime of 25, 30, 40, and 50 kmph, accompanied by new signage and active enforcement. Key corridors, including the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, Judges Court Road, Rani Rashmoni Avenue, Diamond Harbour Road, and AJC Bose Road, have seen speed-trap cameras deployed at high-fatality locations to ensure compliance. Similar interventions have expanded to districts like Purba Medinipur, covering both state and national highways.
Experts emphasize that speed is the critical factor in preventing fatalities, often described as the “force multiplier” in traffic crashes. Bhargab Maitra, professor at IIT-Kharagpur and a principal architect of the policy, noted, “A pedestrian hit at 30 kmph has a 90% chance of survival. At 60 kmph, survival drops to 10%.” He added that without uniform, legally backed speed policies, enforcement becomes inconsistent, funding for technology like contactless enforcement cannot be secured, and districts continue to set arbitrary limits.
The new policies also draw from the Safe System approach, an internationally recognized framework that acknowledges human error while aiming to prevent fatalities. Its five pillars—safer roads, safer vehicles, safer users, improved emergency response, and safe speed—provide a holistic foundation for traffic safety. According to Maitra, “Even if vehicles are safer and trauma care is improved, impact speeds remain the decisive factor in survival.”
Kailash Tiwari, an international road safety consultant with decades of experience, highlighted the disconnect between vehicle design and real-world driving speeds. “Cars are crash-tested at around 64 kmph, yet on expressways, they are routinely driven at 120 kmph or higher,” he said. Tiwari, who first introduced 25 kmph school-zone limits in Kerala in 2005, stressed that road geometry and traffic-calming infrastructure are essential complements to enforcement. Narrowing lane widths, adding roundabouts, and using speed breakers are design-based interventions that naturally reduce vehicle speeds, he noted.
Previous efforts in India provide evidence of the effectiveness of such measures. A 2014 analysis by the National Transportation Planning and Research Centre in Thiruvananthapuram reported a 17% decline in total road accidents in Kerala between 2006 and 2010 following multi-agency interventions, including speed governance and enforcement. Similarly, a 2025 WRI India report on Mumbai intersections found that geometric corrections, traffic-calming measures, and speed management interventions reduced pedestrian crashes, fatalities, and serious injuries, with one site achieving a complete elimination of road-crash fatalities.
Other states are also pursuing complementary initiatives. Delhi has been expanding its “Safe School Zones” program, creating around 100 designated safe pathways for children and caregivers, following a successful pilot that demonstrated measurable improvements in pedestrian safety. International examples further support these strategies: Helsinki achieved a full year without a traffic-related death in 2024-25, with over half its streets capped at 30 kmph and road safety interventions guided by the Vision Zero framework.
In both India and abroad, the evidence points to speed management as a cornerstone of road safety. Limiting speeds in sensitive areas, aligning road design with safe travel velocities, and integrating technology-driven enforcement collectively create safer environments for pedestrians, cyclists, and two-wheeler riders—groups most vulnerable to high-speed collisions.
Uttar Pradesh’s forthcoming policy, informed by IIT-Kharagpur expertise and inspired by West Bengal’s initiatives, could serve as a national model for context-based speed regulation, demonstrating how data-driven planning, geometric road design, and coordinated enforcement can substantially reduce road fatalities. By institutionalizing safe-speed limits, leveraging public awareness campaigns, and piloting innovative interventions, UP aims to reverse the upward trend in traffic deaths and create a safer, more sustainable transport environment.
As India continues to address its road safety crisis, the convergence of state-level policy innovation, engineering solutions, enforcement technology, and international best practices suggests a future in which overspeeding is curtailed, vulnerable users are better protected, and fatalities decline significantly. With Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal leading the way, other states may soon adopt similar frameworks, potentially transforming road safety standards across the country.
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