The Minister of Road
Transport & Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari launched the report “Road Accidents
in India 2015” in New Delhi today. Road accidents have emerged as a major
public health problem globally, and more so in India where almost 5 lakh
accidents occurred last year, killing 1,46000 people and leaving thrice the
number injured. With one of the highest motorization growth rate in the world,
accompanied by rapid expansion in road network and urbanization over the years,
our country is faced with serious impacts on road safety levels.
According to the report compiled by the Transport Research
Wing, the total number of road accidents increased by 2.5 per cent from
4,89,400 in 2014 to 5,01,423 in 2015. The total number of persons killed in
road accidents increased by 4.6 per cent from 1,39,671 in 2014 to 1,46,133 in
2015. Road accident injuries have also increased by 1.4 per cent from 4,93,474
in 2014 to 5,00,279 in 2015. The severity of road accidents, measured in terms
of number of persons killed per 100 accidents has increased from 28.5 in 2014
to 29.1 in 2015.
The analysis of road accident data 2015
reveals that about 1,374 accidents and 400 deaths take place every day on
Indian roads which further translates into 57 accidents and loss of 17 lives on
an average every hour in our country. About 54.1 per cent of all persons
killed in road accidents were in the 15 -34 years age group during the year
2015.
Thirteen top states namely Tamil Nadu
(69,059), Maharashtra (63,805), Madhya Pradesh (54,947), Karnataka (44,011),
Kerala (39,014), Uttar Pradesh (32,385), Andhra Pradesh (24,258), Rajasthan
(24,072), Gujarat (23,183), Telengana (21,252), Chattisgarh (14,446),West
Bengal (13,208) and Haryana (11,174) together accounted for 86.7 per cent of
all road accidents in the country. Around 83.6 per cent of all road accidents
fatalities also occurred in the top thirteen states.
The fifty Million Plus Cities accounted
for a share of 22.1 per cent in total road accidents in the country, 11.3 per
cent in total persons killed in road accidents and 16.4 per cent in total
persons injured in road accidents. Mumbai had the highest number of road accidents
(23,468) while Delhi had the highest number of deaths (1622) due to road
accidents. Accident severity in terms of percentage share of 50 Million Cities
was 14.9 per cent in 2015 as against 15.0 per cent in 2014.
Drivers’fault has been revealed as the
single most responsible factor for road accidents, accounted for 77.1 per cent
of total road accidents during 2015 as against 78.8 per cent during 2014.
Within the category of drivers’fault, road accidents caused and persons killed
due to exceeding lawful speed/over speeding by drivers accounted for a share of
62.2 per cent (2,40,463 out of 3,86,481 accidents) and 61.0 per cent (64,633
out of 1,06,021 deaths) respectively.
Speaking on the occasion
the Minister reiterated India’s resolve and commitment as a signatory to the
Brasilia Declaration, to reduce the number of road accidents and fatalities
by 50 per cent by 2020. He dwelt at length on the various measures being taken
in this direction, including steps like rectifying black spots, incorporating
engineering solutions at the design stage, safety standards for automobiles,
proper trauma care and generating public awareness.
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UM/NP/RS
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