Checks on two-wheelers in new speed limits

Experts and traffic officials said this is crucial since two-wheeler users account for a large proportion of road accident fatalities and the lack of explicit speed limits made enforcement of rules harder for agencies.

The new speed limits announced by Delhi’s traffic police on Friday bring users of two-wheelers under tighter regulation, addressing a gap that previously allowed speeding violations by them to often collapse in courts since road signs typically do not indicate the restrictions on how fast they can travel.

In most roads across the city, they will need to stick to the 50kmph limit and within residential localities, they cannot exceed 30kmph. (HT file photo)

Experts and traffic officials said this is crucial since two-wheeler users account for a large proportion of road accident fatalities and the lack of explicit speed limits made enforcement of rules harder for agencies.

“In many instances of court challans, violators would get away without paying because technically, the speed limits for two-wheelers were not notified. The signage in the city also do not specify separately on the speed limits for two-wheelers, so an easy escape for owners is to say that they were not aware,” said a senior traffic official, who asked not to be named.

According to the notification, those using scooters and motorcycles will need to follow mostly the same set of limits as car drivers will have to, but they cannot go beyond 60kmph on expressways, where vehicles are allowed to touch 70kmph.

In most roads across the city, they will need to stick to the 50kmph limit and within residential localities, they cannot exceed 30kmph.

Delhi government data showed that out of a little over 10 million vehicles registered in the city, 7.3 million are two-wheelers.

Delhi traffic police estimates also show that out of the total road accident fatalities, two-wheeler riders and pillions account for the highest share of deaths after pedestrians and cyclists.

According to an assessment in 2020, nearly 30-40% of the victims of road accidents that were on two-wheelers were either killed or injured.

Road safety experts said that the tendency to speed, combined with the low level of protection for two-wheeler riders, increases the chances of fatality in case of a crash.

In a recent case, two men riding a motorcycle died after they crashed into a wall and fell into a drain at east Delhi’s New Ashok Nagar. Police officials said the rider was speeding and that the impact of the crash flung them.

Ritu Sarangi, a Delhi-based road safety expert who has been consulting with the Delhi traffic police, said that two-wheelers riders in the 19-27 years age group have the highest tendency to speed on roads and also make for the highest share of two-wheeler fatalities.

“This was a much-needed move. Two-wheeler riders make for the largest share of road occupants and they also have the most tendencies to speed and not abide by the city’s limits, endangering their own lives and also the lives of others.

“With the speed limits now notified under law, enforcement teams will now be better equipped to catch the violators,” Sarangi said.

Sewa Ram, professor of transport planning at the School of Planning and Architecture, who is on the speed review committee that helped decide these revised speed limits in the city, said the Delhi traffic police, as well as the road-owning agencies in the national capital must now ensure that speed limit signage across the city is revised to add two-wheelers to the list.

“Now if you see the signage boards, you will always only find the limits for private four-wheelers and commercial vehicles mentioned, but this signage will first need to be changed. This will ensure that commuters know that they will be prosecuted if they flout the said limit,” Ram said.