Chennai’s Greater Chennai Traffic Police (GCTP) has introduced new speed limits for vehicles, aiming to reduce the number of accidents in the city. The updated regulations specify a speed limit of 60 km/hr for light motor vehicles (LMVs) and 50 km/hr for heavy motor vehicles (HMVs). Additionally, two-wheelers are required to adhere to a speed limit of 50 km/hr, while auto-rickshaws have a limit of 40 km/hr. In residential areas, the speed limit for all vehicles has been set at 30 km/hr.
The move comes in response to a recent report by the Road Transport and Highways ministry, which highlighted Chennai’s significant reduction in road accidents in 2022. The city had recorded 5,034 road accidents in 2021, which notably decreased to 3,452 in 2022. Over-speeding was identified as a leading cause of accidents, contributing to nearly 68% of road accidents and 65% of related fatalities.
Tamil Nadu, meanwhile, has emerged as the state with the highest number of accidents on national highways for the fifth consecutive year since 2018, accounting for 12.5% of the total accidents in the country.
To address the issue of over-speeding and other traffic violations, the Chennai traffic police had previously implemented several initiatives, including the installation of speed radar devices at crucial junctions and the deployment of interceptor vehicles equipped with Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras. These measures were aimed at capturing violations such as riding without a helmet, triple-riding, phone usage while driving, and exceeding the permissible speed limit.
