Lok Sabha Question No. 134 (STARRED), answered on 2025-02-13
Subject: Speed Monitoring on NHs
Ministry: ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
Asked by: Thiru Arun Nehru

## be pleased to state:

- (a) the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  detect  over-speeding  of vehicles;
- (b) the actions taken against the frequent offenders in over-speeding cases;
- (c) whether two-wheeler users are the victims in most cases, if so, the steps taken to manage this unfortunate situation; and
- (d) whether the Government would bring about any comprehensive policy to help to reduce the number of fatalities and improve the number  of  detection  due  to  rule  violations,  if  so,  the  details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI)

- (a) to (d)   A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 134 ANSWERED ON 13 TH  FEBRUARY, 2025

## SPEED MONITORING ON NHS

## *134. THIRU ARUN NEHRU:

Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार्ग मंत्री

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STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) TO (d) OF THE LOK SABHA  STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  *134  FOR  ANSWER  ON  13.02.2025 ASKED BY THIRU ARUN NEHRU REGARDING SPEED MONITORING ON NHS.

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- (a)  to  (d)  The  Motor  Vehicles  Act,  1988  is  the  principal  instrument through  which  road  transport  is  regulated  in  the  country.  The  same has  been  amended  first  time  in  a  comprehensive  way  by  the  Motor Vehicles  (Amendment)  Act,  2019,  passed  by  the  Parliament  and published in the Gazette of India on 9th August, 2019.

The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 included, interalia,   provisions  for  road  safety  like  stiff  hike  in  penalties  for  traffic violations including penalties for over speeding, electronic monitoring and enforcement of road safety etc.

In exercise of powers conferred under sub-section (3) of section 109 of the  Motor  Vehicles  Act,  1988,  Central  Government  issued  Motor Vehicles (High Security Registration Plates) Order, 2018 which mandates  High  Security  Registration  Plates  (HSRP)  for  the  vehicles manufactured on or after 1st April, 2019.

In exercise of powers conferred under sub-section (1) of section 112 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, Central Government fixes the maximum speed in respect of the class of motor vehicles on different category of roads.

Sub-section (1) of Section 183 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, states that 'whoever drives or causes any person who is employed by him or subjects  someone  under  his  control  to  drive  a  motor  vehicle  in contravention  of  the  speed  limits  referred  to  in  section  112  shall  be punishable in the following manner, namely : -

- (i)  where such motor vehicle is a light motor vehicle with fine which shall  not  be  less  than  one  thousand  rupees  but  may  extend  to  two thousand rupees;
- (ii)   where  such  motor  vehicle  is  a  medium  goods  vehicle  or  a medium   passenger  vehicle  or  a  heavy  goods  vehicle  or  a  heavy passenger  vehicle  with  fine  which  shall  not  be  less  than  two thousand rupees, but may extend to four thousand rupees; and

(iii)  for the second or any subsequent offence under this sub-section the  driving  licence  of  such  driver  shall  be  impounded  as  per  the provisions of the sub section (4) of section 206.'

Section 136(A) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 provides for electronic monitoring  and  enforcement  of  road  safety  on  National  Highways, State Highways, roads or in any urban city within a state which has a population  up  to  such  limits  as  may  be  prescribed  by  the  Central Government.  Accordingly,  Government  has  published  Rule  167A  in August 2021 for Electronic Monitoring and Enforcement of Road Safety at  high-risk  and  high-density  corridors  on  National  Highways,  State Highways  and  at  critical  junctions  in  Million  plus  cities  and  cities under National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in the Country.

The  Central  Government  notified  rule  167  of the  Central  Motor Vehicles  Rules,  1989  which  provides  procedure  for  issuance  and payment  of  challan.  The  Government  has  developed  an  e-challan portal.

As per data received from the States and UTs, out of the total 1,68,491 road accident fatalities which occurred in the calendar year 2022 on all  category of  roads,  including  NHs,  in  the  country,  74,897  accident fatalities belong to two-wheelers in terms of road user category.

The  Central  Government  in  the  Ministry  of  Road  Transport  and Highways  has  formulated  a  multi-pronged  strategy  to  address  the issue  of  road  safety  based  on  Education,  Engineering  (both  of  roads and vehicles), Enforcement and Emergency Care. Accordingly, various initiatives have been taken by the Government for road safety in the country as detailed at Annexure.

Traffic  management and  enforcement  is  essentially  in  the  domain  of State  Governments/UT  Administrations.  While  Central  Government formulates rules under the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988, the enforcement of  these  rules  comes  under  the  purview  of  State  Governments/UT Administrations.

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO REPLY TO PART (a) to (d) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *134 ANSWERED ON 13.02.2025 ASKED BY THIRU ARUN NEHRU REGARDING SPEED MONITORING OF NHS.

Details  of  various  initiatives  taken  by  the  Government  in  Ministry  of Road Transport & Highways for road safety : -

- (1)        Education:
- i.        Administers  Road  Safety  Advocacy  Scheme  to provide  financial assistance  to  various  agencies  for  raising  awareness  about  road safety and for administering road safety programs.
- ii.      Observance  of  National  Road  Safety  Month/Week  every  year  for spreading awareness and strengthening road safety.
- iii.     Administers  a  scheme  for  setting  up  of  Institutes  of  Driving Training & Research (IDTRs), Regional Driving Training Centres (RDTCs)  and  Driving  Training  Centres  (DTCs)  at  state/district  level across the Country.
- (2)     Engineering :
6. 2.1.    Road engineering:
- i.      Road Safety Audit (RSA) of all National Highways (NHs) has been made mandatory through third party auditors/ experts at all stages i.e. design, construction, operation and maintenance etc.
- ii.      High  priority  is  accorded  to  identification  and  rectification  of black spots /accident spots on NHs.
- iii.    Road Safety Officer (RSO) has been designated at each Regional Office  of  road  owning  agencies  under  the  Ministry  to  look  after  RSA and other road safety related works.
- iv.     Administers  the  electronic  Detailed  Accident  Report  (e-DAR) Project  to  establish  a  central  repository  for  reporting,  management and analysis of road accidents data across the Country.
- v.      Issued  guidelines  for  the  provision  of  signages  on  Expressways and  National Highways  to  offer improved  visibility and  intuitive guidance to the drivers.
- vi.       Provisions  have been made in the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 for failure to comply with standards for the road design, construction and maintenance, as prescribed by the Central Government from time to time.

## 2.2    Vehicle engineering:

Various initiatives were undertaken to make vehicles safer, including the following:-

- i.       Mandatory provision of an airbag for the passenger seated on the front seat of a vehicle, next to the driver.
- ii.        Prescribed norms related to safety measures for children below four  years  of  age,  riding  or  being  carried  on  a  motor  cycle.  It  also specifies use of a safety harness, crash helmet and restricts speed to 40kmph.
- iii. Mandatory  provisions  for  fitment  of  following  listed  safety technologies: -

For M1 category vehicles:

- Seat Belt Reminder (SBR) for driver and co-driver.
- 
- 
- Manual Override for central locking system
-  Over speed warning system.

For all M and N category vehicles:

- 
- Reverse Parking Alert System
- iv.        Mandated Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) for certain classes of  L  [Motor  vehicle  with  less  than  four  wheels  and  includes  a Quadricycle],  M  [Motor  vehicles  with  at  least  four  wheels  used  for carrying passengers] and N [Motor vehicles with at least four wheels used for carrying goods which may also carry persons in addition to goods, subject to conditions stipulated in BIS standards] categories.
- v.     Mandated  speed  limiting  function/speed  limiting  device  in  all transport vehicles, except for two wheelers, three wheelers, quadricycles, fire tenders, ambulances and police vehicles.
- vi.     Published  the  rules  for  recognition,  regulation  and  control  of Automated  Testing  Stations,  which  define  the  procedure  for  fitness testing  of  vehicles  through  automated  equipment  and  the  procedure for  grant  of  fitness  certificate  by  ATSs.  The  rules  have  been  further amended on 31.10.2022 and 14.03.2024.
- vii.   Formulated the Vehicle Scrapping Policy based on incentives/disincentives and for creating an ecosystem to phase out old, unfit and polluting vehicles.
- viii.  A Scheme to set up one model Inspection & Certification Centre in  each  State/UT  with  Central  assistance  for  testing  the  fitness  of vehicles through an automated system.
- ix.  Published rules regarding the Bharat New Car Assessment Program (BNCAP) to introduce the concept of safety rating of passenger cars and empower consumers to take informed decisions.
- x.  Published rules regarding prescribed level playing field in the area of manufacturing  of buses  by  Original  Equipment  Manufacturers (OEMs) and Bus Body Builders.
- xi.   Mandated  vehicles,  manufactured  on  or  after  1st  October,  2025, shall be fitted with an air-conditioning system for the cabin of vehicles of N2 (goods vehicle with gross vehicle weight exceeding 3.5 tonnes but  not  exceeding  12.0  tonnes)  and  N3  (goods  vehicle  with  gross vehicle weight exceeding 12.0 tonnes) category.
- xii. Published  rules for revision of standards  for Safety Belt, Restraint Systems and Safety Belt Reminder to provide provisions for applicability  of  revised  standards  for  safety  belt  assemblies,  safety belt  anchorages  and  the  installation  of  Safety  Belts  and  Restraint Systems, in Motor vehicles of category M,N and L7 w.e.f. 01st April, 2025. Further, the vehicles of category M1, manufactured on and after the 1st April 2025, shall meet the requirement of safety belt reminder for all front facing rear seats as per AIS-145-2018.

## (3)        Enforcement:

- i. The  Motor  Vehicles  (Amendment)  Act,  2019  as  stands implemented provides for strict penalties for ensuring compliance and enhancing deterrence for violation of traffic rules and strict enforcement through use of technology.
- ii.         Issued rules for Electronic Monitoring and Enforcement of Road Safety.  The  rules  specify  the  detailed  provisions  for  placement  of electronic enforcement devices on high risk & high density corridors on National Highways, State Highways and critical junctions in Million plus  cities  in  India  and  cities  under  National  Clean  Air  Programme (NCAP).

iii.     On 10th June, 2024, the Government has issued an advisory to all the  States  and  Union  territories  on  technological  interventions  for ensuring compliance with Motor Vehicle Act, 1988. (4)        Emergency care: i.   Published rules for the protection of Good Samaritan, who in good faith, voluntarily and without expectation of any reward or compensation  renders  emergency  medical  or  non-medical  care  or assistance at the scene of an accident to the victim or transports such victim to the hospital. ii.   Enhanced compensation of victims of Hit and Run motor accidents (from Rs. 12,500 to Rs. 50,000 for grievous hurt and from Rs.25,000 to Rs.2,00,000 for death). iii.  The National Highways Authority of India has made provisions for ambulances with paramedical staff/Emergency Medical Technician/Nurse at toll plazas on the completed corridors of National Highways. iv.  Government in Ministry of Road Transport & Highways along with National Health Authority (NHA), has implemented a pilot program for providing cashless treatment to victims of road accidents in Chandigarh, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Puducherry and Assam.

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