The primary cause of 71.2 per cent of road deaths in India in 2022, as reported by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), was overspeeding. Road accidents, which are a significant global cause of death, particularly affect individuals aged 15 to 49. These accidents result from a combination of factors, including human error, road conditions, and vehicle conditions.
The statistics further reveal that a total of 4,61,312 road accidents were reported by police departments across India in 2022
What comes next in the queue after overspeeding is driving on the wrong side at 5.4 per cent. Other contributors like drunken driving, jumping red lights, and the use of mobile phones together accounted for about 9 per cent of accidents and 9.7 per cent of fatalities. The statistics further reveal that a total of 4,61,312 road accidents were reported by police departments across India during that year, leading to 1,68,491 fatalities and 4,43,366 injuries.
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Two-wheelers continued to be the most frequently involved vehicle category in road accidents, with cars, jeeps, and taxis coming in second. Among road users, two-wheeler riders accounted for the highest share of fatalities in 2022, at 44.5 per cent followed by pedestrian road users at 19.5 per cent.
Tamil Nadu recorded the highest number of road accidents in 2022 with 64,105 incidents
The report also examined the distribution of accidents across different types of roads. Notably, 32.9 per cent of accidents occurred on National Highways (NH), including Expressways, 23.1 per cent on State Highways (SH), and 43.9 per cent on other roads.
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“It is indeed a matter of great concern that despite the continuous efforts of the government in this regard and our commitments to halving fatalities, we have not been able to register significant progress on this front,” Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said in his message in the report—Road Accidents in India, 2022.
In terms of regional variations, Tamil Nadu recorded the highest number of road accidents in 2022 with 64,105 incidents, followed by Madhya Pradesh with 54,432 accidents. However, Uttar Pradesh had the highest number of fatalities at 22,595, followed closely by Tamil Nadu with 17,884 fatalities.
These findings underscore the need for increased road safety measures and the importance of addressing overspeeding and all the aforementioned factors as significant contributors to road deaths in India.
