📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Tisha Mukherjee
Automobile
CAG Report Finds Crucial Road Signs and Crash Barriers Absent on Indian Highways
✍️ The Times of India
🗓 26 Aug 2026, 11:32 PM
👁 3
The Comptroller and Auditor General highlighted a widespread lack of essential road signs and crash barriers on major highways, raising safety concerns for motorists.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has flagged a serious shortfall in basic safety infrastructure across India's national highways. According to the audit, many stretches lack the mandatory road signs that guide drivers about speed limits, lane changes, and upcoming hazards. In addition, crash barriers—designed to prevent vehicles from veering off the road—are missing in several high‑risk zones.
The absence of these safety elements, the CAG noted, increases the likelihood of accidents, especially in areas prone to heavy traffic and adverse weather. The report urges the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to prioritize the installation of standardized signage and robust barriers as part of its ongoing road‑maintenance programmes.
While the audit did not provide a precise count of affected kilometres, it called for immediate corrective action and regular monitoring to ensure compliance with national road‑safety standards. Officials from the ministry have been asked to submit a detailed implementation plan within a stipulated timeframe.
Stakeholders, including road‑safety NGOs, have welcomed the findings, emphasizing that timely remedial measures could significantly reduce road‑traffic fatalities and injuries.
The CAG’s observations add to growing concerns about infrastructure gaps on Indian highways, reinforcing calls for a systematic upgrade to meet international safety benchmarks.
The absence of these safety elements, the CAG noted, increases the likelihood of accidents, especially in areas prone to heavy traffic and adverse weather. The report urges the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to prioritize the installation of standardized signage and robust barriers as part of its ongoing road‑maintenance programmes.
While the audit did not provide a precise count of affected kilometres, it called for immediate corrective action and regular monitoring to ensure compliance with national road‑safety standards. Officials from the ministry have been asked to submit a detailed implementation plan within a stipulated timeframe.
Stakeholders, including road‑safety NGOs, have welcomed the findings, emphasizing that timely remedial measures could significantly reduce road‑traffic fatalities and injuries.
The CAG’s observations add to growing concerns about infrastructure gaps on Indian highways, reinforcing calls for a systematic upgrade to meet international safety benchmarks.