'Road Accidents in India-2022' Report Released By MoRTH; All You Need To Know

The number of road accidents in India went up by an alarming 12% to over 4.6 lakh in 2022, resulting in death of 19 persons every hour, according to a report by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).

The Annual Report on ‘Road Accidents in India-2022 was published by the ministry on Tuesday. This report is based on the data/information received from police departments of States/UTs on calendar year basis in standardized formats as provided by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) under the Asia Pacific Road Accident Data (APRAD) base project.

The report showed that 53 road accidents take place every hour in the country.

"A total of 4,61,312 road accidents have been reported by States and Union Territories (UTs) during the calendar year 2022, which claimed 1,68,491 lives and caused injuries to 4,43,366 persons. This marks an increase of 11.9% in accidents, 9.4% in fatalities, and 15.3% in injuries compared to the previous year," the report said.

As per the report, for the fourth consecutive year in 2022, the fatal road accident victims largely constituted young people in the productive age groups.

"Young adults in the age group of 18 - 45 years accounted for 66.5% of victims during 2022," the report said, adding that people in working age group of 18 – 60 years constitute 83.4% of total road accident fatalities.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has set a target to reduce the number of accidents in the country and the resulting deaths by half by 2024.

Last year, a total 1,68,491 road accident fatalities were reported by states/UTs which is higher than 2021 reported figure of 1,53,972.

As per the report,  during 2022, a total of 4,61,312 accidents were recorded in the country, of which, 1,51,997 (32.9%) took place on National Highways (NH), including expressways, 1,06,682 (23.1%) on state highways and the remaining 2,02,633 (43.9%) on other roads.

"Out of the total of 1,68,491 fatalities reported in 2022, 61,038 (36.2%) were on national highways, 41,012 (24.3%) were on state highways and 66,441 (39.4%) were on other roads," it added.

Among vehicle categories involved in road accidents, two-wheelers for the second consecutive year, accounted for the highest share in total accidents and fatalities during 2022. The report said light vehicles comprising cars, jeeps and taxis together came at a distant second.

An official statement from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said that the report underscores the urgency of adopting a comprehensive approach to address the contributing factors to these accidents, including speeding, reckless driving, drunken driving, and non-compliance with traffic regulations.

It is crucial that we strengthen enforcement mechanisms, enhance driver education and training programs, and invest in improving the condition of roads and vehicles, the ministry said.

"The ministry is committed to implementing robust measures to curb road accidents. The Ministry is also working towards various aspects such as road user behaviour, road infrastructure, vehicle standards, enforcement of traffic regulations, and the role of technology in accident prevention," the statement said.

As road accidents are multi-causal in nature, requiring multi-pronged approach to mitigate the problems through concerted efforts of all agencies at both Central Government and State Governments, it said.

The ministry, along with various other related organizations as well as stakeholders has formulated a multi-pronged strategy to address the issue of road safety focusing on all 4Es including Education, Engineering (both roads and vehicles), Enforcement and Emergency Care.

Furthermore, the ministry is actively involved in initiatives such as the implementation of modern transportation systems, road safety audits, and international collaborations to learn from global best practices. Initiatives like the Electronic Detailed Accident Report (e-DAR) for real-time data analysis and automated vehicle inspection centers are also underway to combat road accidents.

Click here to see the full report.