NHAI Identifies 595 Accident-Prone Unauthorised Parking Spots on Highways After Supreme Court Order

The National Highways Authority of India has mapped out 595 accident-prone unauthorised parking areas across the national highway network, acting on a directive from the Supreme Court that demanded a systematic identification of such dangerous spots.

Unauthorised parking on highway shoulders — where trucks, buses, and other heavy vehicles stop without lights or reflectors, often in poor visibility conditions — is one of the leading causes of night-time highway fatalities in India. Vehicles travelling at speed collide with stationary ones parked without warning, a pattern that has claimed thousands of lives over the years and prompted multiple court interventions.

The Supreme Court's order to identify these sites followed sustained pressure from road safety advocates and petitioners who argued that the problem was well-known but systematically ignored by highway authorities. By formally logging 595 such locations, NHAI has created an actionable database that can be used to enforce removal, build proper rest areas, or install warning systems.

Road safety experts have long argued that India's national highway expansion has outpaced the development of supporting infrastructure — truck rest stops, weigh stations, and lit parking bays — leaving drivers with no safe alternative to roadside parking. NHAI is now expected to submit a compliance plan to the Supreme Court detailing how these 595 spots will be addressed and within what timeframe.