ROAD ACCIDENTS IN INDIA (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Government Scheme)

Context: According to the recently released Ministry of Road Transport and Highways' annual report on road accidents, the states and Union Territories (UTs) reported 461,312 incidents in 2022, leading to injuries for 443,366 people. 

• This year saw an increase of 11.9 percent in accidents, 9.4 percent in fatalities, and 15.3 percent in injuries compared to 2021.

The Report

• The report underscores the urgency of adopting a comprehensive approach to address the contributing factors to these accidents, including speeding, reckless driving, drunken driving, and non-compliance with traffic regulations.
• The second-highest number of deaths took place in 2019 — 10,000 fewer than 2022.
• According to the report, 33 per cent of all road accidents and 35 per cent of fatal accidents took place on national highways and expressways.
• The report also found that a large number of accidents remain attributable to human errors. 
• In 2022, over speeding was a major cause, accounting for 71.2 per cent of the persons killed. It was followed by driving on the wrong side (5.4 per cent).

Road accidents in India

• In a report by the World Bank, India holds the top position for road accident deaths among 199 countries.
• Despite having only 1 percent of the world's vehicles, India contributes to 11 percent of global road accident fatalities, a record-high worldwide, as per the World Bank's findings.
• Shockingly, India witnesses 53 road crashes every hour, resulting in the loss of one life every 4 minutes.
• Annually, the country registers approximately 4.5 lakh road accidents, leading to the unfortunate demise of 1.5 lakh individuals.