Background Speeding is the prime cause of road traffic fatalities in India. Therefore, effective speed management is required for reducing fatalities in the process of upgradation of infrastructure, increase in awareness, and improvement of emergency response systems. In the recent past, IIT Kharagpur, with the support of the GRSP A&G programme, identified several areas of interventions and highlighted the need for developing a speed management policy for the State of West Bengal, primarily targeting two aspects: (a) defining safe speed limit, and (b) preparation of roadmap for its effective implementation.

Objective To prepare a roadmap for the implementation of the speed management policy interventions in the State of West Bengal based on ‘Safe System Approach’ and identified areas of interventions. It is also aimed to carry out advocacy involving all stakeholders of the Government for its adoption by the State.

Policy Analysis For determining safe speed limits, it is recommended to carry out ‘Safe Speed Audits’ (SSA) on all roads, involving road development authorities and Police Department. Safe speeds are recommended for various scenarios of urban and rural roads duly considering ‘human injury tolerance criteria’ in addition to the traditional road engineering and traffic engineering criteria. SSA would also help to identify the requirements of road delineation (i.e., marking, signage, etc.), speed calming measures, etc. for effective speed management. The roadmap for implementation includes the tasks (such as speed monitoring, enforcement, training and capacity building, awareness campaigns, and pilot studies) to be carried out each stakeholder departments along with time-bound targets. These targets are suggested based on extensive consultation with the stakeholder departments.

Policy Implications The speed management policy interventions and roadmap for implementation has been accepted by the State of West Bengal upon convergence of the stakeholder departments, and necessary administrative approvals.

Conclusion A successful intervention on speed management policy and its implementation roadmap is demonstrated utilizing (a) principle of ‘Safe System Approach’; (b) systematic analysis for identifying required areas of interventions, and (c) strength of advocacy. West Bengal is now the first State in India to adopt a scientific approach, policy, and implementation roadmap for speed management.