THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: More than 16,000 lives have been lost on the roads in Kerala from 2018 to April 2022. During this period, more than 1.5 lakh road accidents took place in which 1.78 lakh people sustained injuries, the official data with the Kerala Police has revealed. As per the data, 2018 was the deadliest year as 4,303 people were killed, while 2020 saw a dip in casualties as 2,979 people got killed. Till April this year, 14,614 accidents were recorded in which 1,441 people lost their lives.
The most number of accident deaths in 2021 occurred between 6pm and 9pm. As many as 777 people lost their lives during this time window and the most number of casualties was reported from rural areas (2,521). Contrary to the popular perception that accidents mostly occur around midnight, the 2021 data revealed that the number of accidents and resultant fatalities were in fact less during this time.
From midnight to 3am, only 166 deaths were reported in the state, which is the lowest for any given time window spanning three hours. In the same period, 2,611 people lost their lives due to the fault of the drivers of the vehicles, while poor lighting and stray animals claimed 14 and 39 lives, respectively.
The most number of accident deaths in 2021 occurred in January (407), while May recorded the least (123). The most number of lives was lost on tertiary roads (1,686), while 975 were killed on the national highways.
Accidents on the state highways claimed 768 lives. Two-wheelers contributed to the most number of casualties (1,069) followed by cars (710). Pedestrians too have been bearing the brunt of road accidents as 644 people died from 2019 to 2020 on the NHs in the state, the data with the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has revealed.
4,303deaths in 2018
As per the data, 2018 was the deadliest year as 4,303 people were killed, while 2020 saw a dip in
casualties as 2,979 people got killed. Till April this year, 14,614 accidents were recorded in which 1,441 people lost their lives.