Mint Primer: What makes Indian roads the deadliest?
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. A road accident in Dehradun early on Tuesday last week killed six and left one critically injured. It is a stark reminder of Indian roads being the world’s deadliest, with the highest fatalities globally.
Mint examines the statistics, the reasons, and why there may be no easy fix. In 2022, road accidents killed nearly 170,000 people in India, while 423,158 were injured. The number of fatalities, the highest in the world, rose 10% over 2021.
The country recorded 446,788 road crashes during the year, 11% more than 403,116 in 2021. In terms of fatalities, China is next on the list but with less than half the deaths at 61,000. India accounts for nearly 14% of global deaths due to road accidents.
And an estimated 3% of GDP is lost every year due to road accidents in the country. Though official numbers are not out yet, fatalities are expected to have risen 7% in 2023, crossing the 1.8 lakh mark. Read more: India’s PLI Auto scheme sees modest start with ₹500 crore claims in FY24 Over-speeding and careless driving, like in the Dehradun case, accounted for over 87% of the road crashes and fatalities, according to data from the National Crime Records Bureau.
Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs was the reason for 1.7% crashes. 19.5% deaths were caused when a vehicle was hit from the back, followed by hit-and-run at 18.1% and head-on collision at 15%. National highways, making up 2% of India’s road length, accounted for 30.5% of the accidents and 35% of the deaths.
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