Skip to main content

India's terrible toll

India’s horrific death toll on its roads presents a major threat to the country’s fast economic development. Estimates from the Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE) suggest that some 130,000 people die on the roads/year, at an average of around 14 deaths/hour. Under-reporting of accidents is thought to be endemic and the figures available exclude the 1.6 million serious injuries that have been estimated by the IRTE. Close to 146 million traffic violations/day occur in the country according to the IRTE
April 19, 2012 Read time: 1 min
India’s horrific death toll on its roads presents a major threat to the country’s fast economic development. Estimates from the 5035 Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE) suggest that some 130,000 people die on the roads/year, at an average of around 14 deaths/hour. Under-reporting of accidents is thought to be endemic and the figures available exclude the 1.6 million serious injuries that have been estimated by the IRTE. Close to 146 million traffic violations/day occur in the country according to the IRTE’s estimates, though only 20,000 are booked by the police. A lack of enforcement and support from the state or central governments as well as the non-existence of a proper traffic management system has led to this current situation

Related Content

  • Moscow summit urges transit change
    June 11, 2019
    International ITS experts flocked to Russia for a new conference on the challenges of urban transit. Eugene Gerden reports from Moscow The Leaders in Urban Transportation Summit is a new international conference organised by the Moscow Department of Transport and Road Infrastructure Development. Dedicated to the latest developments in the field of ITS in the city of Moscow, it took place in the Moskva-Citi Business Center in April – and the intention is to make it an annual event. Senior transport o
  • Are e-scooters safe for cities?
    November 6, 2019
    Electric scooters are promoted as both a lifestyle choice and an environmentally friendly means of solving first- and last-mile challenges.
  • Asecap Days 2024: Getting used to the new normal
    August 27, 2024
    Asecap Days 2024 in Milan focused on environmental protection of road infrastructure, digital twin-based maintenance and monitoring of highways as well as the impact of electric vehicles, reports David Arminas
  • IAM RoadSmart calls for joined up thinking on road safety
    October 12, 2016
    Action is needed from across government departments to reverse the trend of flat-lining road deaths, according to new research from UK road safety charity IAM RoadSmart, which says reducing these deaths would in turn offer a large saving to the public purse. The new report, Evaluating the costs of incidents from the public sector perspective, is the first attempt to update the formula for death and injury cost figures since the 1990s. It is also the first time anyone has highlighted the costs to the publ