Government & highway authorities
Adopt a corridor and own its target.
- Share crash data through iRAD
- Fix flagged black spots — short-term measures first
- Review deaths on the corridor every month
Flagship model · Highway safety
Zero Fatality Corridor
A model that manages an entire highway stretch as one system — fixing engineering flaws, enforcing the rules, speeding up emergency care and engaging road users. On the Mumbai–Pune Expressway it cut road deaths by 58%.
- The 5E approach
- Mumbai–Pune Expressway, since 2016
- 58.3% fewer deaths by 2023
- Fewer deaths, 2016 → 2023
- 58.3%
- Deaths a year on the corridor
- 151 → 63
- Length of the Mumbai–Pune Expressway
- 94.5 km
- Engineering issues treated
- 3,500+
The model
What is a Zero Fatality Corridor?
A Zero Fatality Corridor (ZFC) is a defined stretch of highway where government agencies and partners work together on every factor behind road deaths, and measure the result year by year. SaveLIFE Foundation started the first ZFC on the 94.5-km Mumbai–Pune Expressway in 2016, when the road saw 151 deaths.
Working with MSRDC, the Maharashtra Highway Police and the Motor Vehicle Department, the programme brought deaths down to 63 in 2023 — a 58.3% decline, and 32% lower than 2022 alone (SaveLIFE Foundation, February 2024).
- 3,500+ engineering issues treated
- 176 km of crash barriers installed
- 80+ median openings closed
- Deaths down 32% vs 2022
151 → 63
Deaths a year on the Mumbai–Pune Expressway, 2016 → 2023
How it works
The 5E approach
SaveLIFE Foundation describes the programme as five streams of work on the same corridor.
Enactment
Rules, orders and institutional arrangements that let every agency act on the corridor together.
Engineering
Fix the road so a mistake isn't fatal — on the MPEW, 176 km of crash barriers and 80+ median openings closed.
Enforcement
Consistent enforcement of speed and lane rules by the highway police.
Emergency care
Faster care after a crash, within the golden hour.
Engagement
Working with road users, transport operators and communities along the corridor.
Results over time
How the Mumbai–Pune corridor changed
- 1
2016
Baseline
The ZFC begins on the 94.5-km expressway, which records 151 road deaths that year.
- 2
2019
86 deaths
A 43% fall from the 2016 baseline.
- 3
2020
66 deaths
Reported as a 52% reduction.
- 4
2023
63 deaths
58.3% below 2016 and 32% below 2022, from 56 fatal crashes.
Impact
Deaths on the corridor fell by more than half
Road deaths on the Mumbai–Pune Expressway in the years SaveLIFE Foundation has reported.
58.3% fewer deaths88 fewer people died on the corridor in 2023 than in 2016 — while national road deaths rose to a record 1,77,175 in 2024.
Source: SaveLIFE Foundation — MPEW impact release (22 Feb 2024); zerofatalitycorridor.in; MoRTH RAI 2024.
Road deaths on the Mumbai–Pune Expressway
Reported years, 2016 baseline → 2023
- 1512016
- 862019
- 662020
- 632023
Myth vs fact
What the corridor data actually shows
Myth: Highway deaths are a fact of life.
Fact: On the same expressway, deaths fell from 151 in 2016 to 63 in 2023. Most of these deaths were preventable.
Myth: Safer highways need rebuilding the road.
Fact: Much of the MPEW gain came from treating 3,500+ engineering issues — crash barriers and closing 80+ median openings — not rebuilding the expressway.
Myth: Tougher enforcement alone will bring deaths down.
Fact: The corridor combined five streams — enactment, engineering, enforcement, emergency care and engagement — run by several agencies together.
Get involved
What each pillar can do
Industry & CSR
Put insights where the data points.
- Partner on corridor programmes
- Train fleet drivers who use the corridor
- Share telematics and near-miss data
Citizens & volunteers
Be the corridor's eyes and ears.
- Report black spots on BARS
- Keep to lane and speed limits
- Learn basic first aid for crash victims
Take the model further
Bring the corridor approach to your state's highways
Every corridor starts with data. Report a dangerous stretch, or read the impact report on how the Mumbai–Pune corridor was run.
Sources
Figures on this page come from these public sources (checked September 2026).