The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has introduced guidelines to improve road safety by correcting accident-prone spots on national highways through short-term measures. NHAI project directors are empowered to take corrective action in accident-prone areas recommended by the heads of the state police or district road safety committee, with a budget of up to Rs 10 lakh per spot. The regional office of the authority will be responsible for short-term measures costing more than Rs 10 lakh and up to Rs 25 lakh.

These financial powers complement the previously issued NHAI guidelines, which allowed project directors to approve the Department of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) rectification through short-term measures, up to Rs 25 lakh per black spot. The work procurement can also be carried out by combining multiple accident sites under a project.

While MoRTH identifies black spots based on defined parameters, NHAI has proactively taken this initiative to correct accident-prone spots on national highways in addition to the black locations reported by MoRTH. The short-term measures include installing pedestrian amenities such as zebra crossings with advance warning signs, guardrails, handrails, intersection improvements, solar lights/blinkers, road signs and implementing traffic-calming measures, among others.