Ahmedabad: The state urban development department is finalizing speed restrictions for city roads. In a decade, road accidents have claimed 75,738 lives across the state. Govt sources indicated that maximum permissible speed on congested streets will drop to 30 kmph, with limits reaching 45-60 kmph on wider free-flowing arteries.

The initiative stems from recommendations by a high-level committee tasked with addressing Gujarat's position as the eighth-deadliest state for road fatalities between 2013 and 2022, according to Union govt data presented to Parliament in Dec 2024. The department's officials are revising the General Development Control Rules (GDCR) to prioritize urban road safety. The new framework will determine speed thresholds based on road width, traffic density and time periods throughout the day.

In 2022, state govt had notified speed limits for various types of vehicles. It was then stated that the speed for a car within city limits cannot exceed 70 kmph. The limit for motorcycles of more than 100cc displacement was 60 kmph and for motorcycles of less than 100cc was 50 kmph. The speed limit for a car on expressways was 120 kmph, on highways with dividers and four or more lanes it was 100 kmph and on state highways, it was 80 kmph.

"Speed limits in cities play a crucial role in ensuring road safety, with higher speeds significantly increasing the risk of severe accidents," a senior UDD department official stated. "At a speed of 80 kmph, the likelihood of death in a crash is 20 times higher than at 30 kmph." The proposed system follows international models where residential and high-traffic zones enforce a 30 kmph limit to protect pedestrians and cyclists.

Arterial roads and highways will accommodate faster movement while maintaining safety parameters. Planning incorporates land-use patterns and activity levels along urban corridors. High-speed sections will require engineered pedestrian crossings to ensure safe passage across traffic flows. "The department will analyze the impact of implementation before announcing the enforcement mechanism for all cities," a UDD official told TOI.