More than 70 per cent of fatal road accident victims in 18-45 years age group: Report

As many as 1.47 lakh people died on Indian roads in 4.64 lakh accidents reported during 2017, the report by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said.
Image for representational purpose only.
Image for representational purpose only.

NEW DELHI: More than 70 per cent of fatal road crashes in 2017 involved adults in the 18-45 years age group, according to a report.

As many as 1.47 lakh people died on Indian roads in 4.64 lakh accidents reported during 2017, the report by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said.

"Fatal road accident victims largely constitute young people in the productive age groups. Young adults in the age group of 18 - 45 years accounted for 72.1 per cent of victims during 2017. People in working age group of 18- 60 years accounted for a share of 87.2 per cent in the total road accident fatalities," as per the report from . In terms of accidents on road categories, the National Highways accounted for 30.4 per cent of total road accidents and 36 per cent of deaths in 2017.

Accidents on State Highways and other roads constitute 25 per cent and 44.6 per cent respectively. In case of fatality, State Highways and other roads have accounted for 26.9 per cent and 37.1 per cent, respectively.

The report said: "The State of Tamil Nadu has recorded highest number of road accidents in 2017, but the number of persons killed in road accident has been the highest in Uttar Pradesh."

Major States that achieved significant reduction in road accidents and fatalities in 2017 were Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat and West Bengal.

Uttar Pradesh and Bihar were the worst performers recording large increase in the number of road accidents and fatalities in 2017 as compared to 2016.

The report said that for the second consecutive year, the number of road accidents declined in 2017 over the previous year.

Similarly, the number of persons injured has been on the decline since 2015. In percentage terms, the number of accidents in 2017 has been lower by 3.3 per cent and injuries by 4.8 per cent over that of the previous year, 2016.

It said: "Significantly, the number of persons killed in road accidents during 2017 has been less than that of 2016 by 1.9 per cent."

It said the there has also been a decline in the number of fatal accidents, i.e., accident involving at least one death.

A total of 1.34 lakh fatal accidents were reported in

2017, which is 0.9 per cent lower than the 2016 figure of 1.36 lakh.

Road accident severity measured by the number of persons killed per 100 accidents, however, saw a marginal increase of 0.4 percentage points in 2017 over the previous year.

Among vehicle categories involved in road accidents, two-wheelers accounted for the highest share (33.9) per cent in total accidents and fatalities (29.8 per cent) in 2017.

"Light vehicles comprising cars, jeeps and taxis as a category comes a distant second with a share of 24.5 per cent in total accidents and 21.1 per cent in total fatalities," it said.

In terms of road-user categories, the share of two-wheeler riders in total fatality has been highest (33 per cent) in 2017, the statement said adding, pedestrian road-users comprise 13.8 per cent of persons killed in road accidents during 2017.

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