India, Sept. 25 -- While the expansion of high-speed expressways has opened up more opportunities for inter-city travel, experts said the safety standards for long-distance vehicles, such as overnight and sleeper-bus services, have not kept pace, in addition to a lack of preparedness for emergencies.

Road-safety expert Rohit Baluja, president of the Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE), said the higher-speed environment of expressways needs to be matched by appropriate safety standards for long-distance buses. "The issue is are the buses adequately equipped to handle small emergencies?"

Late Wednesday night, nine people were killed after an air-conditioned (AC) bus caught fire while travelling on the Yamuna Expressway near Greater...