Speeding accounts for 43.5% of accidents since 2016, plans afoot to decrease speed limits

With 43 percent of road accidents in the city attributed to speeding, the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) has proposed a blanket reduction in

With 43 percent of road accidents in the city attributed to speeding, the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) has proposed a blanket reduction in speed limits across all highways, arterial, sub-arterial and connecting roads in Gurugram. This comes after the GMDA recently finalised the comprehensive mobility management plan (CMMP) for the city.

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As per the data provided in the CMMP, a total of 5,192 accidents occurred on Gurugram roads between 2016 and August 2020. In 2018, Gurugram also reported the highest number of road accidents in the state. “While the total numbers of accidents are declining from 2016 to 2019, with an annual growth rate of 3.7%, it has to decrease a lot to reach the Haryana vision zero policy (sic),” the CMMP states.

Of these total accidents, speeding was found to be the cause of 43.5 percent of accidents, while another 39.8 percent of the accidents were attributed to “careless driving”. In comparison, drink driving and overtaking only constituted a fraction of the total number of accidents. Moreover, “about 62% of the accidents occurred during 6pm to 6am where the road users can achieve the maximum speeds on the network and that could be one of the major reasons for over-speeding in the city,” the CMMP states.

Pataudi Road, Sohna Road, NH-48, Delhi-Jaipur Expressway and Golf Course Road were found to be the most dangerous stretches in the city with Pataudi Road and NH-48 recording the highest number of fatalities, as per the CMMP. The most dangerous blackspots, each with at least 20 fatalities recorded since 2016, include the Sidhrawali exit in Bilaspur, IMT Manesar Chowk, Iffco Chowk, Pachgaon Chowk, Farrukhnagar Chowk and Hero Honda Chowk. Four of these locations fall under NH-48.

Faced with such a scenario, officials said there is an urgent need to “rationalise” the present speed limits in the GMDA’s areas of jurisdictions. “The baseline for what is an acceptable speed needs to be lowered. The data is quite clear about this. The highest permissible speed limits will be imposed on access controlled stretches where lane discipline is better observed, such as highways. On streets,which provide access to mixed land use sectors, speed limits will be more stringent. Sensitive zones, such as around schools and hospitals, will also be marked out,” said an official with the GMDA’s mobility department, preferring anonymity.

Gurugram’s current speed limits apply to state highways, national highways and all roads within municipal limits. While national highways have a maximum speed limit of 90kmph for cars, 50kmph for motorcycles and 50kmph for trucks, state highways cap the speed limit at 80kmph for cars, 50kmph for motorcycles and 50kmph for trucks. Within municipal limits, the speed limit for cars and two wheelers is 50kmph, while it is 30kmph for two-wheelers.

As part of the GMDA’s rationalised speed limits, the upper limit for cars will be capped at 70kmph on access-controlled arterial highways, such as the NH-48 and the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway. On access*controlled arterial roads, where there are graded pedestrian lanes, the upper limit is proposed to be capped at 60kmph. On partially access-controlled arterial streets in areas with medium built-up density, the proposed speed limit is 40kmph, while connector roads which pass through residential areas will have an upper speed limit of 30kmph.

However, it remains uncertain when these new speed limits will be enacted.

“We first need to conduct detailed speed studies on key road stretches, which should commence as part of Phase-1 of the CMMP’s implementation. The proposed speed limits need to be tested and refined. At the moment, only observational studies have been done which revealed that speed limits are not only flouted, but also poorly implemented. A dedicated traffic and road management cell under the GMDA has been proposed. Once these cells have been constituted under the GMDA Act they will take the matter forward,” said the GMDA official.