Archive · 13 Aug 2026
NHAI Sets 10-Minute Deadline for Highway Ambulances With Penalties
India has very busy highways where accidents can happen.
When someone is hurt, an ambulance needs to arrive quickly to help.
The government agency in charge of highways, called NHAI, has made new rules about how fast ambulances must act.
The ambulance team must accept an emergency call within one minute.
Then the ambulance must start driving within two minutes.
If the crash is within 10 kilometres, the ambulance must reach the spot within 10 minutes.
The injured person should also get to a hospital within one hour.
Doctors call that first hour the 'Golden Hour' because it is very important for saving lives.
If ambulances are too slow, the companies running them must pay fines.
The new rules came after reports said ambulance response was too slow, and movements will be checked using GPS.
NHAI has mandated that ambulances on National Highways must reach accident sites within 10 minutes for crashes within a 10-km radius.
Emergency alerts must be accepted within one minute and ambulances must start moving within two minutes, with victims to reach a hospital within one hour.
Delays can attract penalties of up to Rs 10,000 per incident, plus Rs 5,000 for every additional minute of delay.
Ambulance movements will be tracked in real time via GPS and the NHAI Care Dashboard, with penalties calculated and deducted automatically.
The tighter norms follow delays flagged by the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety and a CAG performance audit, under NHAI's Zero Fatality Attainment push.
Around 3,000 ambulances and 1,000 patrol vehicles and cranes with GPS are stationed across 50,000 km of National Highways.
- Who
- The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), along with its ambulance service providers, concessionaires and on-road emergency units.
- What
- New service-level rules setting strict response-time deadlines and penalties for ambulances deployed on National Highways.
- When
- Not specified in the articles.
- Where
- National Highways across India, including adjoining stretches beyond a project's jurisdiction when no other ambulance is available.
- Why
- To cut delays in emergency response during the critical 'golden hour' after gaps were flagged by the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety and a CAG performance audit.
- Regulator
- National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)
- Helpline
- 1033
- Alert acceptance time
- Under 1 minute
- Time to start moving
- Within 2 minutes
- Crash-site response target
- 10 minutes within a 10-km radius
- Hospital arrival target
- Within 1 hour ('Golden Hour')
- Penalties
- Up to Rs 10,000 per incident; Rs 5,000 per extra minute; Rs 2,500 per day for app/GPS non-use
- Monthly penalty cap
- Rs 2.5 lakh
- Fleet
- About 3,000 ambulances and 1,000 patrol vehicles/cranes on 50,000 km of highways
