Section 112: Limits of speed
Motor Vehicles Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide
Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1988
Motor Vehicles Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide
(1) No person shall drive a motor vehicle or cause or allow a motor vehicle to be driven in any public place at a speed exceeding the maximum speed or below the minimum speed fixed for the vehicle under this Act or by or under any other law for the time being in force:
(2) The State Government or any authority authorised in this behalf by the State Government may, if satisfied that it is necessary to restrict the speed of motor vehicles in the interest of public safety or convenience or because of the nature of any road or bridge, by notification in the Official Gazette, and by causing appropriate traffic signs to be placed or erected under section 116 at suitable places, fix such maximum speed limits or minimum speed limits as it thinks fit for motor vehicles or any specified class or description of motor vehicles or for motor vehicles to which a trailer is attached, either generally or in a particular area or on a particular road or roads
(3) Nothing in this section shall apply to any vehicle registered under section 60 while it is being used in the execution of military manoeuvres within the area and during the period specified in the notification under sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Manoeuvres, Field Firing and Artillery Practice Act, 1938 (5 of 1938).
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 112
Section 112 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 empowers Central and State Governments to prescribe maximum and minimum speed limits for different classes of motor vehicles and designated road corridors.
Sub-section (2) empowers the Central Government to notify national maximum speed limits for different categories of motor vehicles (such as expressways, national highways, and urban roads), while sub-section (3) and (4) authorize State Governments and local authorities to impose localized speed restrictions based on road geometry, urban congestion, school zones, or accident-prone corridors. Exceeding speed limits is punishable under Section 183.
Speed limit compliance is central to establishing or refuting negligence in MACT trials. While insurance companies cannot repudiate third-party liability merely on the ground that the driver exceeded the speed limit, proving speed limit violations helps claimants establish actionable tortious negligence under Section 166. Furthermore, electronic speed-trap data captured under Section 136A now serves as primary documentary evidence in accident inquiries.