New DelhiMultiple traffic violations will soon result in temporary suspension of driving licences for six months as part of a graded point system, Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday.
“For example, if you are caught driving wrong way you will be charged a point… once you accumulate 12 points… you won’t be allowed to drive for six months,” he said at a road safety event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry.
Further, if there are multiple serious offences such as drinking and driving, then the driving licence will be permanently cancelled, he added.
He also said that districts and states across the country where road crashes continue to surge will be called out for their non-performance
“States and districts where road accident rates are soaring continuously will be revealed, along with public authorities—such as collectors, MPs and all others who share a mandate to ensure that roads are safe. It’s not something we want to do, but since we have to do all that is required to reduce road accidents, we need the support of district administrations to scientifically get to the root of the problem, and resolve them,” Gadkari said.
In recent years, road crash fatalities in India has been rising with the figure reaching 177,177 in 2024, meaning roughly 485 people died every day across India in road accidents in 2024. Year-on-year the number of deaths saw a 2.5% increase from the figure in 2023.
Gadkari on Thursday said the government is identifying high-risk corridors, junctions, roads, user groups, and time patterns of accidents.
He said the government has identified 100 most high-risk districts in the country and will be soon conducting a meeting of district collectors, MPs, and ministers—to discuss the black spots, adding that in Nagpur, collective action of public authorities on these black spots has resulted in a significant drop of 50% in road accidents.