In ten years, 15 lakh people have died in accidents on Indian roads | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: In the past decade (2014-2023), around 15.3 million people have died in road accidents – more than the population of the Union Territory of Chandigarh and almost equal to that of Bhubaneswar – despite the central government’s repeated global has taken measures. commitments to reduce road deaths and the Supreme Court’s interventions to reduce such deaths.
Data from the Union Ministry of Road Transport shows that the road fatality rate in the country is around 250 per 10,000 km. In the US, China and Australia the corresponding figures are 57, 119 and 11 respectively.

In the previous decade (2004-2013), 12.1 million lives were lost in road accidents, according to data collected by the Ministry of Road Transport. While the increase in fatalities over the past decade must be seen against the backdrop of a huge jump in population, road length and number of vehicles, experts say not much effort has been made to curb this massive loss of life.
Government data shows that the number of registered vehicles has more than doubled from 15.9 crore in 2012 to around 38.3 crore in 2024 and the road length has increased from 48.6 lakh km in 2012 to 63.3 lakh km in 2019 according to the latest published data.

Experts say the increase in road length and number of vehicles cannot be the reason more people are dying every year. They added that while it is well known and often emphasized that road safety is a multi-sectoral issue that requires greater collaboration between government departments, stakeholders and non-profit organizations, not much has been done in this direction, with concerned agencies continuing to work in silos.
Former top cops also told TOI that while officers may ask for explanations for the odd unsolved murder, such action is unheard of in the case of fatal road accidents. “Top officials hardly ask juniors for explanations, even when there are a dozen road deaths or they inquire about the outcome of investigations. Road accidents are not a priority for all agencies,” says a former police officer in Delhi.
T Krishna Prasad, former IPS officer, chairman of Telangana Road Safety Authority and now sitting MP, said while importance is given to murders, road accidents and deaths are not given due attention.
The lawmaker, who plans to introduce a bill on road safety, said the number of people killed in road accidents in a year is far more than any natural disaster India has witnessed.