New Delhi: 71% of all road deaths caused by over speeding

The second biggest killer among "traffic rule violations" is wrong side driving...

New Delhi: Over-speeding accounted for seven out of every 10 deaths on Indian roads in 2022 as road fatalities hit a record 1, 68,491 with another 4.4 lakh injured, including close to 2 lakh who were grievously injured.

The second biggest killer among "traffic rule violations" is wrong side driving almost 67,000 persons lost their lives as they did not use the prescribed "safety devices" - helmets and seat belts.

Annual data released by the road transport and highways ministry showed that more than 50,000 two-wheeler riders died because they were not wearing helmets, and twice that number were left injured. Similarly, 16,715 deaths were linked to not wearing seat belts, which also resulted in 42,300 injuries. Health and road safety experts have often termed helmets as the "vaccine for head injuries".

India has the dubious distinction of having the highest number of road fatalities - with a share of around 11% of global deaths, although its share in vehicular population was estimated to be less than 2%, which does not include non-motorized.

Over the last five years the comparative analysis of road crashes and deaths showed that the share of speeding as the main cause of road deaths has increased from 64% in 2018 to 71% in 2022, pointing to the urgent need for strict enforcement at a time when the government is focusing on building better quality roads. 

This is also evident from numbers which estimated that nearly 78% of the fatalities on national highways (35,488) were on account of speeding. Overall, highways, national and state, accounted for 60% of the deaths, although they account for barely 5% of the country's road network.

The "Road Accident in India" report also revealed that there has been more violation of traffic rules, from drunk driving to jumping traffic lights and use of mobile phones while driving. The fatalities due to jumping traffic signals more than doubled from 679 in 2021 to 1,462 last year (see graphic)

The report highlighted that despite claims of both the central and state governments of improving road conditions and complying with norms at under-construction sites, there has been a 25% spike in pothole-related deaths - from 1,481 fatalities in 2021 to 1,856 during last year - and even the number of persons killed during ongoing road works and at under construction sites have increased.

There was an increase in the number of fatalities across all types of collisions with the maximum spike in accidents of vehicles with stationary or parked ones. In 2022, 6,012 persons were killed in such crashes compared to 4,925 during the previous year. Similarly, the number of persons who died in hit and run cases increased to 30,486 from 25,938 in 2021 and deaths due to vehicles hit from back or tailgating also went up to 32,097 in 2022 from 28,712 in the previous year.