1,53,972 people killed in road accidents in India in 2021
While 56,007 people died in accidents on national highways, there were 37,963 deaths on state highways and 60,002 deaths on other roads.
In Short
- Road accidents increased by 12.6% y-o-y in 2021.
- Fatalities and injuries rose by 16.9% y-o-y and 10.39% y-o-y, respectively.
- At least one out of 10 people killed on roads across the world is from India.
India witnessed as many as 4,12,432 road accidents in 2021 in which 1,53,972 people were killed, while 3,84,448 individuals were injured, according to the latest data released by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).
Road accidents increased by 12.6% y-o-y in 2021. There was a rise of 16.9% y-o-y in fatalities and 10.39% y-o-y in injuries due to road accidents during the year.
Of the total road accidents, 1,28,825 took place on national highways (including expressways), 96,382 on state highways and 1,87,225 on other roads, MoRTH said in its annual report 'Road Accidents in India - 2021'.
While 56,007 people died in accidents on national highways, there were 37,963 deaths on state highways and 60,002 deaths on other roads. The 18-45 year age group is worst affected by accidents, accounting for nearly 67% of deaths.
MoRTH's report is based on the information received from police departments of states and union territories, collected on a calendar year basis, in standardised formats as provided by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) under the Asia Pacific Road Accident Data (APRAD) base project.
Over-speeding killed 1,07,236 individuals in 2021 and drunken driving resulted in 3,314 deaths. There were 8,122 deaths due to lane indiscipline and 679 deaths because of traffic light violations. Using cell phones while driving resulted in 2,982 individuals losing their lives. There were 31,639 deaths due to other reasons.
"Road accidents attributable to various types of traffic rule violations reveal that over-speeding constitutes the main violation associated with accidents and accident-related deaths and injuries, for the fourth consecutive year in 2021," the report said, adding that violation of any traffic rule constitutes human error.
"But from the perspective of road safety strategy, violations such as over-speeding and driving on the wrong side do not constitute human error alone but are also possible faults in road design. The approach opens up the scope for road engineering measures to address problems which are, prima facie, considered to be human error and enforcement issues," it observed.
Due to the non-use of helmets while riding two-wheelers, 32,877 drivers and 13,716 passengers were killed. Besides, 8,438 drivers and 7,959 passengers died as they did not have seatbelts on when a vehicle was being driven.
According to the World Health Organization, at least one out of 10 people killed on roads across the world is from India.
"Road safety continues to be a major developmental issue, a public health concern and a leading cause of death and injury across the world," Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said.
He said that the cost of road accidents is borne not only by the victims and their families but by the economy as a whole in terms of untimely deaths, injuries, disabilities and loss of potential income.
"It is indeed a matter of great concern that despite the continuing efforts of the government in this regard and our commitments for halving fatalities we have not been able to register significant progress on this front," he added.
Courtesy: India Today
