Parliamentary panel seeks national highway safety force to cut road deaths

New Delhi: A parliamentary standing committee has recommended that the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways set up a dedicated Highway Safety Patrol Force, on the lines of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) to bring better traffic discipline among motorists, reduce road accidents, and protect highway assets.

The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, in its report, suggested that the Ministry examine the feasibility of establishing a dedicated National Highway Safety Patrol. The panel said the successful institutional model of the Railway Protection Force, which has proved effective in ensuring asset protection and passenger safety across the railway network.

The panel, in its report tabled in the ongoing Parliament session, noted that India recorded approximately 4.73 lakh road accidents and 1.70 lakh fatalities in 2024, according to data from the Transport Research Wing of the Ministry. National Highways alone accounted for over 52,600 fatalities during the year.

The Committee, headed by JD(U) Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Kumar Jha, suggested that such a patrol be established, even if initially on a pilot basis, on high-accident corridors and expressways.

This would help strengthen real-time accident response during the critical “golden hour”, enhance enforcement of speed and lane discipline on access-controlled corridors, deter encroachment and damage to highway assets, and complement the digital enforcement infrastructure being deployed under the Intelligent Traffic Management System.

Insisting that a dedicated institutional mechanism warrants serious consideration to curb road fatalities, the committee observed that the present dependence on State Police forces, whose jurisdiction and priorities extend well beyond highway safety, is insufficient for the vast scale of the National Highway network.

The panel also recommended that Safe School Zone provisions, including traffic calming measures such as speed tables, rumble strips, and appropriate signage, be incorporated as a standard design requirement for National Highway stretches passing through inhabited areas, especially in proximity to schools. These provisions should be in place before a completion certificate is issued for such projects.

The Committee noted that a total of 16,540 black spots were identified based on 2016–2023 data. Short-term measures like traffic calming, signages, and lighting have been completed for 14,138 black spots, while long-term measures like design improvements, flyovers, and underpasses have been implemented for 6,650 black spots.

However, the panel pointed out the need for Post-Rectification Safety Audits for all treated black spots,the panel said.