In the days to come, motorists may not be able to zip down National Highways or even within Municipal boundaries.
The Union Urban Development Ministry has favoured lowering of the speed limit of vehicles to 50 kmph on such highways, just as it is applicable on urban roads in cities. At present, the speed limit is around 80 kmph on most of the highways in the country.
Citing increasing fatal mishaps, particularly on the National Highways within or close to Municipal boundaries over the years, the UD Ministry has made a strong case with the Transport Ministry for setting the speed limit at 50 kmph besides ensuring facilities for pedestrians; dedicated lanes for buses and service lanes to meet the needs of local traffic on NH sections within or close to Municipal boundaries.
“There have been many stretches where National Highways within and or close to the Municipal boundaries have been developed as four-lane or six-lane sections to meet the traffic demand. This has, however, increased the risk of traffic accidents two-four times compared to other ‘urban’ roads within the city,” said a senior UD official.
He cited recent data from a study — TRIIP — by IIT Delhi, which noted that cities like Visakhapatnam, Agra, Vadodara and ludhiana have registered increase in the number of accidents along the recently upgraded highway sections in these cities.
As these roads are used by all types of commuters, including cyclists and pedestrians, it is mandatory that these roads are treated different from other National Highways and hence, different operational and safety standards are applied to these sections.
“There needs to be special emphasis for road crossings for pedestrians and cyclists through underpass rather than unfriendly Foot over Bridges (FoBs). Moreover, pedestrians and cyclists should be exempted from toll tax,” said the official.
In this connection, the UD Ministry has also called for sharing of NHAI funds with States or Municipalities to develop and maintain highways in urban areas as per guidelines and requirements of urban roads.
In other words, guidelines, including both operational and geometric standards, should be set up keeping in mind the safety of road users, including pedestrians and cyclists. These guidelines should become part of the predefined terms and conditions in the agreement between the NHAI and the State, said the official.