Vehicles legally allowed to go up to 70km/h in cites

Authorities claim that the speed limits are being raised due to the increasing number of ring roads being constructed.

The Centre has approved a proposal that allows the maximum speed limit in cities to be raised to 70km/h for cars, 60km/h for cargo carriers and 50km/h for two-wheelers.

These new regulations also allow a grace of 5 per cent because it can be hard to maintain the absolute speed limit, owing to human limitations and slight variation in speedometer readings of different vehicles. Therefore, those who exceed the speed limit by up to 5 per cent will not be penalised but will be given a warning instead.

Additionally, media reports suggest that the Ministry is also mulling to increase the car speed limit to 120km/h from the existing 100km/h on expressways and to 100km/h from 80km/h on national highways.

What must be kept in mind is that the Centre has the power to only set the upper limit for speed across the country. State governments and local bodies are the ones that define lower speed limits on roads under their control, but they cannot exceed the bar set by the Centre. In states where the local bodies have not defined speed limits, the Centre's regulations will be implemented automatically.

Interestingly, the decision to raise speed limits in urban areas comes at a time when there is a growing global demand to reduce the number of speeding vehicles on the road. According to media reports, speeding claimed 74,000 lives in India in 2016, making it the most widespread reason of road fatalities in the country.