National Road Safety Board

Posted 17 Jun 2025

Updated 23 Jun 2025

5 min read

Why in the News?

The Supreme Court questioned the Central Government for failing to implement Section 215B of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and constitute the National Road Safety Board.

More on the News

Section 215B of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, provides for the constitution of the National Road Safety Board.
Notification for the constitution of the National Road Safety Board was issued by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MORTH) in 2021.

About National Road Safety Board (NRSB)

Composition: A Chairman and not less than three, but not exceeding seven Members, to be appointed by the Central Government.
The Head Office: Shall be in the National Capital Region and the Board may establish offices at other places in India.
Functions of NSRB:
- The Board shall be responsible for promoting road safety, innovation and adoption of new technology and for regulating traffic and motor vehicles.
- For these purposes, the Board shall:
  - Provide technical advice and assistance to the Central Government, State Governments and local authorities on road safety and traffic management;
  - Promote
    - Good Samaritans;
    - Good practices in road safety and traffic management;
    - New vehicle technology in the field of vehicular engineering;
    - Consistency between international technical standards and domestic technical standards;

Conduct research to improve road safety, traffic management, crash investigation.

The below infographic shows data bank related to road accidents in India.

Challenges of road safety in India

High Fatality Rate and Injury Burden: India accounted for 11% of global road fatalities in 2022, making it one of the most dangerous countries for road travel.
Behavioural issues: E.g., in 2022, over speeding accounted for 71.2 % of the persons killed followed by driving on the wrong side (5.4 %). (Road Accidents in India-2022)
Road condition/environment: As per the WHO South-East Asia Regional status report on road safety, less than 20% of the national road network undergoes safety rating assessment.
Slow progress at states levels: According to the India Status Report on Road Safety 2024,"(TRIP Centre at IIT Delhi), most States are unlikely to meet the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety goal to halve traffic deaths by 2030.
Other challenges: Non-compliance of safe vehicle standards, heterogeneity in vehicle fleet, apathy from bystanders, lack of adequate quality public transport, etc.

The below infographic shows the impact of road accidents such as rising inequality, intangible coasts and economic coast.

Initiatives taken for Road safety:

Global

Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030
- Developed by: WHO and UN Regional Commissions to guide global road safety.
- Objective: A target of a 50% reduction in road deaths and injuries by 2030.
Brasilia Declaration on Road Safety: Signed by India in 2015, where countries aimed to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.6.
- SDG 3.6: By 2030, halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents.

In India

'National Road Safety Policy' 2010: Focus on awareness about road safety, setting up a road safety database, ensuring safe road infrastructure, etc.
The Motor Vehicles Act of 1988 (MVA 1988), as modified by the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019 (MVA 2019) includes:

Good Samaritan: Inserted a new section 134A, named "Protection of good Samaritans" which provides that a Good Samaritan shall not be liable for any civil or criminal action for any injury to or death of the victim of an accident.

Cashless Treatment of Road Accident Victims Scheme, 2025

The scheme was launched by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) based on the powers given by the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
Key Provisions of the Scheme
- Eligibility: Any person being a victim of road accident arising out of use of motor vehicle.
- Coverage: Victims are eligible for cashless treatment up to Rs 1.5 Lakhs at designated hospitals for a maximum period of 7 days from the date of the accident.
- Nodal Agency: The State Road Safety Council.
- Designated hospitals: States must onboard all capable hospitals, (including those empanelled under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana), for trauma and poly-trauma care.
- Payments to Hospitals: Hospitals can raise claims which are verified by the State Health Agency with payment made from Motor Vehicle Accident Fund within 10 days.

Vehicle engineering: Safety standards for automobiles have been improved in respect of Airbags, Anti-Breaking System (ABS), Tyres, Crash test, etc.
Road engineering: Road safety has been made an integral part of road design at the planning stage.
Bharat NCAP: It is a "New Car Safety Assessment program" which proposes a mechanism of awarding 'Star Ratings' to automobiles.

Measures Required:

Improving Governance and Regulation:
- Strengthening road assessment processes with standardised criteria.
- Conducting regular road audits.
  - KS Radhakrishnan panel on Road Safety, 2014, recommended third party safety audit of State Highways.
Technological advancements: E.g., Implementation of the Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) on National Highways as mandated by the MV Amendment Act, 2019.
- Solution like iRASTE (Intelligent Solutions for Road Safety through Technology and Engineering) in Nagpur, which leverages AI can be tried at national level.
Adopting Safe System approach: Five areas of recommendations for safe system are multimodel transport and land use planning, safe road infrastructure, Vehicle safety, safe road use and post-crash response.
Improving Emergency Healthcare System: Establishment of equitable and essential trauma care systems, including pre-hospital response systems.
Other: Promoting safe driving habits among youth, use of quality helmets, reducing alcohol and drug use, etc.