NEW DELHI: The Road Accidents In India 2019 report, released by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, has revealed that the national capital saw an almost 14 per cent drop in the number of road accidents last year.
While the number of road accidents in 2018 was 6,515, the number fell to 5,610 last year. The capital also saw a reduction in the number of deaths in road accidents. While the number of deaths was 1690 in 2018, it fell by around 13.4 per cent in 2019 to 1463.
However, in the list of major cities with a population of over a million, Delhi stood second across the country only next to Chennai in terms of total road accidents and fatalities recorded over the past year.
Ministry officials say that the implementation of the new Motor Vehicles Act has played a key role in the reduction of numbers.
“As the minister said, the new MV Act was implemented with a focus on reducing road crashes and fatalities. It was implemented on September 1 last year and the results are here to see,” a ministry official said. The new MV Act imposes heavy fines on violators and has included many new provisions to enforce traffic rules strictly.
A few states had expressed their concerns over the high fines when the Act was enforced. In terms of age distribution, the maximum number of fatalities was in the age group 18-35 years with 791. Over 300 persons in the age group 35-45 years died in road crashes in the capital while 187 persons in the age group 45-60 lost their lives in road accidents, the report stated.