Road safety experts on Friday, 25 July 2025, called for urgent adoption of low-cost, high-impact engineering measures — including 30 km/h speed zones in residential and school areas — to significantly reduce road fatalities in Indian cities. The appeal was made at a lecture organised by the International Road Federation (IRF) in New Delhi, with speakers arguing that affordable, evidence-based interventions could deliver faster and more measurable results than large-scale infrastructure projects.

Key Interventions Proposed

Prof. Geetam Tiwari, Emeritus Professor and Former Chair Professor at the Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Programme, outlined a range of scalable measures that Indian cities can adopt without heavy capital expenditure. These include installation of high-visibility zebra crossings, raised pedestrian crossings, and curb extensions (bulb-outs) to shorten pedestrian crossing distances.

Prof. Tiwari also recommended construction of median refuge islands on wide roads, lane narrowing and chicanes to naturally calm traffic flow, and improved retro-reflective signage and road markings to enhance night-time visibility. She stressed that tactical interventions, when implemented well, can reduce crashes while improving mobility for all road users.

The Case Against Costly Infrastructure

K K Kapila, President Emeritus of the International Road Federation (IRF), challenged the prevailing assumption that road safety is primarily a function of expensive projects like flyovers and expressways. He argued that most urban crashes stem from everyday design deficiencies on ordinary roads operating at normal traffic speeds.

'Low-cost engineering measures such as roundabouts, raised pedestrian crossings, traffic-calming measures, improved street lighting and safer intersection designs have been proven to reduce crashes by 20 to 80 per cent, often at a fraction of the cost of major infrastructure projects. Such interventions can be implemented much faster and deliver immediate safety benefits,' Kapila said.

Implementation Challenges

Kapila also flagged persistent barriers that continue to slow progress on urban road safety in India. These include the multiplicity of agencies responsible for road safety, weak enforcement of traffic regulations, and the complexity of retrofitting existing urban streets. Fragmented funding mechanisms, inadequate crash data and post-crash care, and resistance to reallocating road space for pedestrians and cyclists were also cited as significant obstacles.

This comes amid growing concern that India's rapidly expanding cities face mounting pressure as infrastructure development struggles to keep pace with urbanisation, as Kapila noted.

Role of Intelligent Transport Systems

Akhilesh Srivastava, President of the ITS India Forum, emphasised the importance of integrating intelligent transport systems (ITS) with proven engineering measures to build a more comprehensive urban road safety framework. Experts broadly agreed that technology-enabled solutions, when layered over sound physical design, could amplify the impact of low-cost fixes.

What This Means for Indian Cities

India consistently ranks among the countries with the highest road fatality counts globally. With urban populations surging and vehicle density rising, the window for cost-effective intervention is narrowing. Experts at the IRF lecture argued that cities do not need to wait for mega-projects — targeted, low-budget engineering changes on existing roads can begin saving lives immediately. The next step, advocates say, lies in coordinated policy action and inter-agency accountability frameworks.