Chennai has emerged as the metro with the strongest distraction-free driving performance in a new road-safety assessment, recording a score of 95. The finding offers a useful counterpoint to the city’s growing traffic pressures, but it also shows why safer urban mobility cannot depend on driver behaviour alone.
The India Road Safety Report 2026 analysed more than 4.5 million trips, covering around 55 million kilometres of driving data from over 27,000 active users across 17 states. Its smartphone-based telematics measured speeding, sudden braking, harsh acceleration, cornering and driver distraction. Chennai posted a composite SmartDrive score of 93, although Hyderabad recorded the highest overall metro score at the same level. Chennai’s strongest result came from its distraction-free driving score, placing it ahead of the other metros assessed on that measure.
The city-level data also points to a time-sensitive road safety challenge. Driving performance remained broadly stable during the day but weakened after 8pm. Across the wider dataset, the 9pm–10pm period recorded the lowest average score at 86, while 1pm–2pm registered the highest at 93. That pattern matters for Chennai as commercial activity, entertainment and service-sector employment increasingly extend into late evenings. Poor lighting, unsafe junction design, weak pedestrian infrastructure and high-speed traffic can amplify the consequences of reduced driver attention after dark.The report also identified sudden braking and harsh acceleration as relatively weak driving behaviours nationally. Such indicators matter beyond individual motorists. Frequent abrupt manoeuvres can increase collision risks and create a less predictable environment for pedestrians, cyclists, two-wheeler users and public transport passengers.
For Chennai, the Chennai driving safety findings therefore offer only one part of a larger urban mobility picture. The city’s road network must also make safe behaviour easier through better crossings, continuous footpaths, effective street lighting, traffic calming and reliable public transport. India recorded 1,72,890 road fatalities in 2023, according to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The ministry also identifies human error, road conditions and vehicle factors as interacting causes of crashes. Globally, the WHO continues to stress that pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists face disproportionate risks. It has urged cities to put people, rather than vehicles, at the centre of transport planning.The Chennai driving safety signal is encouraging, but the next test is whether city planning can convert attentive driving into safer streets for everyone.
