Indian Road Network - Issues

Issues

The main roads in India are under huge pressure and in great need of modernization in order to handle the increased requirements of the Indian economy. In addition to maintenance, the expansion of the network and widening of existing roads is becoming increasingly important. This would then enable the roads to handle increased traffic, and also allow for a corresponding increase in the average movement speed on India's roads.

In 2009, lane capacity was low and only about 16% of India's roads were four lanes or above. A 2007 study found that the congestion on India's highways reduced average truck and bus speeds to 30-40 km/h (19-25 mph); road maintenance was under-funded, and some 40 percent of villages in India lacked access to all-weather roads. While the PMGSY rural road program mentioned above has, by 2011, connected 90 percent of villages identified in 2005 as without access, many remote villages in India were still without access to a single lane, paved road as of May 2011.

The World Health Organization compilation of road network safety data for major economies found India to have the highest number of road fatalities in the World, with 105,000 road-accident caused deaths in 2006. However, adjusted for India's larger population, the accident and fatalities rates are similar to major economies. Over 2004-2007, India had a road fatality rate of 132 deaths per million citizens, compared to 131 deaths per million citizens in the United States. Non-fatal accident rates reported on Indian roads was 429 accidents per million citizens, compared to 412 accidents per million citizens in China, and 1101 accidents per million citizens in the United States. The report notes that not all accidents in India and China are reported and recorded.

The low road densities per 1000 people has created significant congestion and slow speeds on existing roads inside cities. Because of the congestion, the fuel efficiency of the vehicles in India is very low. This increases the overall fuel consumption per equivalent kilometer travelled, besides resulting in heavy pollution since the engines run very inefficiently at such low speeds. Pollutants from poor road network and resultant poor fuel efficiencies include hydrocarbons, NOx, SOx, methane, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide - all of which cause health problems, adverse climate effects and related environmental damage.

Due to rising prices of petroleum, a non-renewable resource, some have urged the Indian government to focus instead on improving public transport like the Indian Railways and rapid transit systems. Many cities have proposed, or are implementing metros and mass transit systems.