Mint Primer: What makes Indian roads the deadliest?

A road accident in Dehradun early on Tuesday last week killed six and left one critically injured. It is a stark reminder of Indian roads being the world’s deadliest, with the highest fatalities globally. Mint examines the statistics, the reasons, and why there may be no easy fix.

How many Indians die in road accidents?

In 2022, road accidents killed nearly 170,000 people in India, while 423,158 were injured. The number of fatalities, the highest in the world, rose 10% over 2021. The country recorded 446,788 road crashes during the year, 11% more than 403,116 in 2021. In terms of fatalities, China is next on the list but with less than half the deaths at 61,000. India accounts for nearly 14% of global deaths due to road accidents. And an estimated 3% of GDP is lost every year due to road accidents in the country. Though official numbers are not out yet, fatalities are expected to have risen 7% in 2023, crossing the 1.8 lakh mark.

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What are the main reasons for crashes?

Over-speeding and careless driving, like in the Dehradun case, accounted for over 87% of the road crashes and fatalities, according to data from the National Crime Records Bureau. Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs was the reason for 1.7% crashes. 19.5% deaths were caused when a vehicle was hit from the back, followed by hit-and-run at 18.1% and head-on collision at 15%. National highways, making up 2% of India’s road length, accounted for 30.5% of the accidents and 35% of the deaths. Most accidents and fatalities were caused by two wheelers, accounting for over 45,000 deaths.

Who are the most vulnerable?

Ironically, two-wheeler riders are also most vulnerable, accounting for 44.5% of the fatalities, followed by pedestrians at 19.5%, according to data from MoRTH. The share of pedestrians has, however, more than doubled from 9% in the last 6 years. The number of pedestrian deaths in India in 2022 was more than the combined fatalities in EU and Japan.

What has been done to fix the problem?

A major focus area has been to identify and rectify dark spots that cause accidents on highways. So far the government has spent over ₹50,000 crore on this. New highways have passageways for local population, while more cameras are being installed for better law enforcement. The process of issuing driving licences is being upgraded. There has been some impact of this. Road accident risk—number of accidents per lakh population—has declined from 41.1 in 2011 to 33.5 in 2022. This metric had peaked in 2010 at 42.5.

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Why have they not worked?

The major bottleneck is the lack of coordination between various arms of the government. For example, only four states have so far installed electronic surveillance systems on the highways. There is also too much focus on the safety of passengers in cars that account for 15% of the fatalities and too little for two-wheeler riders and pedestrians. The biggest issue is lack of education among road users on safety and lax licensing norms that allows untrained and even underage drivers to take the wheels on the road.