NEW DELHI: Latest statistics released by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) on Tuesday revealed that ‘over speeding’ is the major cause for road accidents and deaths in the country. In 2022, 72.4 per cent of accidents and 75.2 per cent of deaths were recorded due to speed limit violation, according to the report ‘Road Accidents Death in India 2022.’
The report also disclosed that over 50,000 people died in accidents involving two-wheelers as they were not wearing helmets. It states that 35,692 of the victims were riders and 14,337 were riding pillion. According to the data, 16,715 persons were killed, who were not wearing seat belts. About 8,300 of them were behind the wheels and the remaining 8,331 were co-passengers.
In total, 4.61 lakh road accidents were reported across states and Union Territories (UTs) during 2022, which claimed 1.68 lakh lives and caused injuries to 4.43 lakh individuals. This marks an increase of 11.9 per cent in accidents, 9.4 per cent in fatalities, and 15.3 per cent in injuries compared to the previous year.
The fatalities registered last year were the highest since 2018, when 1.57 lakh road accident deaths had taken place. The number gradually dipped during Covid-19 pandemic as a lot of restrictions on travelling were in place. The number of road accidents, however, was higher in 2018. Over 4.70 lakh mishaps had happened.
Tamil Nadu recorded the highest number of road accidents on National Highways in 2022, whereas the number of persons killed in road accidents was the highest in Uttar Pradesh. With 64,105 accidents, which is about 14 per cent of the total number of accidents, Tamil Nadu recorded the highest number of road accidents followed by Madhya Pradesh, with 54,432 mishaps.
With 22, 595 fatalities in road crashes, Uttar Pradesh is on the top followed by Tamil Nadu, where 17,884 deaths were recorded. Expressing concerns over the rising number of crashes and casualties, 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.