Despite the government’s efforts for ‘better road infrastructure’, India continues to witness a sharp rise in road accidents as in 2022, the number of road accidents rose to an all-time high of 4,60,000 and claimed 1,68,491 lives, according to the latest data, the released in the Road Transport and Highways Ministry’s ‘Traffic Accidents in India – 2022’ report, the number of injuries rose to 4,43,366.
The number of road deaths in 2022 was 1,68,491, higher than in 2021 (1,53,972).
Compared to the previous year, this means an increase in accidents by 11.9%, deaths by 9.4% and injuries by 15.3%.
Of the total number of accidents, 1,51,997 (32.9%) occurred on national roads including expressways, 1,06,682 (23.1%) on state roads and the remaining 2,02,633 (43.9%) on other roads.
Of the total 1,68,491 fatalities in 2022, 61,038 (36.2%) occurred on federal highways, 41,012 (24.3%) on state highways and 66,441 (39.4%) on other roads.
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Among states, Tamil Nadu recorded the highest number of road accidents on national highways in 2022, while the number of people killed in road accidents was highest in Uttar Pradesh.
In 2022, in the category of traffic rule violations, speeding is one of the leading causes of death, accounting for 71.2% of fatalities, followed by driving on the wrong side (5.4%).
According to the report, 47.7% of accidents, 55.1% of deaths and 48.2% of injuries occurred in open areas, places where no human activity normally occurs.
In the road characteristics category, 67% of accidents occurred on straight roads, while accidents on curved roads, pothole roads and steep gradients together accounted for only 13.8% of all traffic accidents in 2022.
For the fourth year in a row, the fatal traffic accident victims in 2022 will be predominantly young people of working age. Young adults ages 18 to 45 accounted for 66.5% of victims in 2022, and young adults ages 18 to 60 accounted for 83.4% of all traffic fatalities.
Also Read: Deaths due to road accidents increased to 1.53 lakh in 2021: Gadkari
Road accidents are multi-causal and often the result of the interaction of various factors such as human error, road environment and vehicle condition, the report said, underlining the urgency of a comprehensive approach to tackling the factors that cause these accidents, including speeding. reckless driving, drunk driving and failure to obey traffic laws.
It highlights the need to strengthen enforcement mechanisms, improve driver education and training programs and invest in improving the condition of roads and vehicles. The ministry says it is also working on various aspects such as road user behavior, road infrastructure, vehicle standards, enforcement of traffic regulations and the role of technology in accident prevention.
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