New Delhi: Road accidents claimed an average of 20 lives every hour in the country last year, accounting for a staggering 1,72,890 deaths in 2023, according to data shared by states with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, government sources told ThePrint. The ministry is yet to release its annual road accident report.
With an average of 55 crashes per hour, the country recorded 4,80,583 road accidents last year. The number reflects a 4.2 percent increase in road accidents from 2022 when the country recorded 4,62,312 crashes.
Apart from the deaths, the crashes resulted in 53 injuries per hour in 2023, accounting for 4,62,825 last year. The numbers reflect a 2.6 percent rise in fatalities and a 4.4 percent increase in injuries from 2022.
At 1,457, Delhi recorded the highest number of road crash fatalities among cities in 2023, followed by Bengaluru (915) and Jaipur (849). At the state level, Uttar Pradesh saw the highest number of road crash fatalities—23652, followed by Tamil Nadu (18,347) and Maharashtra (15366).
Tamil Nadu, among all states, recorded the highest number of road accidents—67,213, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.
Seeing roughly 87 crashes per lakh population in 2023, Tamil Nadu reported the highest number of accidents for the sixth consecutive year. Uttar Pradesh, however, accounted for 13.7 percent of the road accident deaths nationwide.
According to the data, road crash severity—measured as deaths per 100 crashes—remained largely unchanged. There has been a slight decrease from 36.5 in 2022 to 36 in 2023.
Speeding emerged as the leading cause of fatalities, contributing to 68.1 percent of all road crash deaths.
Nearly half of the fatalities involved two-wheeler users, who accounted for 44.8 percent of the total deaths. Pedestrians, on the other hand, made up 20 percent of all road crash fatalities.
The data also reveals that India’s state and national highways, which comprise only 4.9 percent of India’s total road network, remain the deadliest, accounting for 59.3 percent of all road crash fatalities.
Approximately 26 children died in the accidents every day, accounting for 9,489 fatalities, that is, nearly 6 percent of the total crash deaths. It marks a slight decline of 0.41 percent compared to 2022.
However, individuals aged 18 to 45 accounted for a majority of the road crash fatalities. Men were the primary victims, accounting for 85.2 percent of the deaths, while women accounted for 14.8 percent.
Fatalities were more prevalent in rural areas, making up 68.4 percent of the total deaths compared to 31.5 percent in the urban areas.
In 2020, India ranked first globally for road crash fatalities, according to the World Road Statistics 2022. The country recorded a crash severity rate of 38.15, with 3,45,238 crashes and 1,31,714 deaths, surpassing China and the United States.
This is an updated version of the report
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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