Chilling: In India, 1,72,890 lives were lost in road accidents in 2023
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New Delhi: Despite spending a huge amount of money on road safety every year, India's roads are becoming a death trap, according to the data released by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The data, which was released the other day, showed that the country's road accident rate and deaths are increasing at a rapid pace every year. The data, which reveals the figures for road accidents in 2023, says that 4,80,583 accidents were recorded across the country, and 1,72,890 people died on the roads. According to the report, 474 lives are lost on the roads in different parts of India in a day.
While the road accident rate increased by 4.2 per cent compared to 2022, the road accident death rate increased by 2.6 per cent. The number of people injured in road accidents increased to 4.62 lakh. According to the data, this increase is 4.4 per cent compared to the previous year. An average of 474 deaths is reported when 1317 accidents occur every day. Also, 55 accidents and 20 deaths are reported every hour across India.
The Union Ministry of Road and Highways has released the report on road accident statistics for 2023 as per the Supreme Court's directive. The Centre was directed to publish the previous year's reports in May last year and to release the accident rate for the calendar year every six months.
The number of serious accidents that resulted in one or more deaths has also increased every year. While 1.55 lakh serious accidents were reported in 2022, this increased to 1.60 lakh in 2023. The increase in accidents is 3.04 per cent.
The report also indicates that national highways are becoming death traps in various parts of the country. A total of 57,467 fatal accidents took place on national highways, which is 35.8 per cent. It is 36,595 (22.8 per cent) on state highways and 66,447 (41.4 per cent) on other roads. Traffic violations and speeding have become the reason for most accidents.
The Ministry of Road and Highways report points out that the majority of road accident fatalities in the country are young people. 66.4 per cent of those who died in road accidents in 2023 were between the ages of 18 and 45. The 18-60 age group accounted for 83.4 per cent. The 18-25 age group accounted for 19 per cent of deaths. The 25-35 age group accounted for 25 per cent. The 35-45 age group accounted for 21.4 per cent.
Two-wheeler riders are the most likely to be involved in and die in road accidents. They accounted for 44.8 per cent of the deaths. Meanwhile, pedestrians accounted for 20 per cent. In 2023, 77,539 two-wheeler riders died in road accidents, compared to 74,897 in 2022. Car, taxi, van and LMV vehicles accounted for 21,496 deaths. The remaining number was due to other vehicle accidents. Nine thousand four hundred eighty-nine children also lost their lives in road accidents in 2023.