Accountability for road engineering faults, need for pedestrian facility audit and speed governors for vehicles were among key suggestions placed by K. Kathirmathiyon, member of Coimbatore district road safety committee, before Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre, Chairman of the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety (SCCoRS), recently.
In his submission to SCCoRS, Mr. Kathirmathiyon pointed out that pedestrian safety continues to receive very little attention even though pedestrian deaths account for more than 20% of total road fatalities nationwide.
Supreme Court judges Justice K.V. Viswanathan and Justice J.B. Pardiwala, while hearing a public interest petition filed by Coimbatore-based orthopaedic surgeon S. Rajasekaran on October 7, declared that pedestrian safety is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, he submitted.
Mr. Kathirmathiyon stated that not a single foot overbridge or subway was constructed for pedestrians for nearly 15 km on Avinashi Road in Coimbatore, even though more than ₹1,700 crore was recently spent on elevated express highways. While major investments have been made for vehicular mobility, pedestrian needs have been completely overlooked. A pedestrian facility audit must be made mandatory for all road projects in the country, he stated in the submission given to Justice Sapre on November 29.
Stating that a large number of two-wheeler accidents occur due to speeding, he submitted that the maximum speed limit permitted for motorcycles in India is 80 km/h on expressways and 60 km/h on other roads, as per a Government of India (MoRTH) notification dated April 6, 2018.
However, high-performance superbikes with engine capacities of above 1,000 cc and manufacturer-claimed top speeds of 300–400 km/h are freely available for use on public roads. Mr. Kathirmathiyon wanted such two-wheelers to be restricted only for racing purposes and allowed only on approved race tracks. A separate category of motorcycles may be designated exclusively for racing, with a complete ban on their use on public roads. These high-speed racing motorcycles should not be classified as ‘motor vehicles’ under Section 2(28) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and therefore should not be permitted to ply on public roads, he submitted.
Installation of automatic number plate recognition cameras on all major roads for identifying violations, ban on blinding headlights and white/bluish dazzling LED lights in vehicles and mandatory fitting of dashboard and rear side cameras in all vehicles were among other submissions to SCCoRS.
Published – December 05, 2025 10:47 pm IST
