Road transportation is economical in the transportation of a smaller amount of goods and a few passengers over short and medium distances. Though they are relatively cheap and easy to construct and maintain, road transportation in India is confronted with a number of problems.
(a) On account of its large population, India has a large volume of freight and passenger traffic, which requires a large number of vehicles. But the road network is not adequate to handle heavy traffic.
(b) As most roads are kuccha or unmetalled, their usage is limited during the rainy season. The potholes on roads in the monsoon season lead to accidents.
(c) More national highways need to be built to connect the different parts of the country.
(d) The roads in the cities are highly congested and traffic jams are a constant problem. Most of the bridges and culverts are also old and narrow aggravating the problem.
(e) Roadside amenities like emergency medical facilities, telephone booths etc. are lacking.
(f) Police patrolling on the highways is not adequate. So, goods and passengers are not safe at times.
