In Madhya Pradesh, a collision between a sports utility vehicle (SUV) and an empty bus at Jhallar in Betul district resulted in the deaths of eleven people, including two children. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his grief and said that the victims would receive ex-gratia from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF).
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reports that there were 4,03,116 reported cases of road accidents in 2021, up from 3,54,796 in 2020.?
There has been a 16.8% increase in road accident fatalities, rising from 1,33,201 in 2020 to 1,55,622 in 2021. Last year, road accidents resulted in the injuries of 3,71,884 individuals. The death rate per thousand vehicles has increased from 0.45 in 2020 to 0.53 in 2021.
Uttar Pradesh had the most road accident fatalities in 2021 (14 per cent of all deaths), followed by Tamil Nadu (9.88%) and Maharashtra (8.94%). In most cases, road accidents have resulted in fewer fatalities than injuries, but in Mizoram, Punjab, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh, there were more fatalities than injuries.
Two-wheelers were responsible for the greatest number of fatal road accidents in 2021 (69,240 deaths), accounting for 44.5% of all road fatalities. Cars deaths were about 23,531 (15.1%), followed by trucks/lorries with 14,622 deaths (9.4%).
India has the highest death toll from road accidents worldwide, according to a World Bank report.
Despite having just one per cent of the world's vehicles, India is responsible for 11% of all road deaths. The report stated, "India tops the world in road crash deaths and injuries. It has 1 per cent of the world's vehicles but accounts for 11 per cent of all road crash deaths, witnessing 53 road crashes every hour; killing 1 person every 4 minutes.”
Over 13 lakh people died and another 50 lakh were injured on Indian roads in the past ten years.
The highest number of road accidents, accounting for 30.3% of all road accidents, occurred on National Highways. State highways were responsible for 23.9% of all road accidents in the nation, accounting for 2.9% (or 1.87 lakh km) of total road length.
According to a new study published in the Lancet, steps taken to check for speeding can save 20,554 lives annually. It emphasized the four main risk factors including drunk driving, speeding, not wearing a seatbelt or a crash helmet, and interventions that could help prevent 25% to 40% of the 13.5 lakh people who die on the road each year around the world.
In the 2020 report from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, 1,31,714 people died in road accidents, with speeding accounting for 69.3 per cent (91,239), not wearing helmets 30.1% (39,798), and not using seatbelts 11.5 per cent (26,896).
According to the study, the promotion of crash helmets and interventions to reduce speeding could save 5,683 lives and wearing seatbelts could save 3,204 lives in India.
An estimated 3,47,258 lives could be saved annually through the use of electronic speed control and changes to infrastructure. Furthermore, stricter regulations related to drunk driving could save 16,304 lives, according to a Lancet report.
Despite the fact that seatbelt laws and motorcycle helmet laws could save over 51,698 lives and 1,21,083 lives, respectively.
Radar and speed detection camera systems have proven successful, and can be installed. Traffic police use a handheld radar gun to estimate a passing vehicle's speed. In traffic control, digital still cameras (in Chandigarh), speed cameras (in New Delhi), and radar guns (in New Delhi) have already been used to detect speed.
Road safety auditing and road safety engineering capacity building should be the focus of training workshops and courses. Also, electronic stability control, effective Car Crash Standards, and advanced braking ought to be mandated for all vehicles.
The penalties for traffic violations, vehicle defects, juvenile driving, and other offences are increased under the Motor Vehicles Amendment Act of 2019. The Central Government established the National Road Safety Board in accordance with the act. The law also provides protection for the good Samaritans.
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