India's terrifying road fatality rate

The fatality rate from road accidents in India continues to be of major concern to the country’s Government, highway authorities and safety campaigners. A report from India’s National Crime Records Bureau has highlighted the scale of the problem. Called “Accidental Deaths in India", this official report reveals that reported road accidents caused on average 56 injuries/hour and 14 deaths/hour during 2009. The fatal accident rate also increased from the previous year according to the report, which says that
May 21, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
The fatality rate from road accidents in India continues to be of major concern to the country’s Government, highway authorities and safety campaigners. A report from India’s 5648 National Crime Records Bureau has highlighted the scale of the problem. Called “Accidental Deaths in India", this official report reveals that reported road accidents caused on average 56 injuries/hour and 14 deaths/hour during 2009. The fatal accident rate also increased from the previous year according to the report, which says that number of deaths rose from 118,000 in 2008 to 126,000 in 2009. Meanwhile the number of reported traffic accidents in India reached 421,000 in 2009. Of the total death victims, 21% were two-wheeler riders. India’s vehicle numbers continue to increase as the country’s economy grows. There is concern too that reported accident levels are considerably lower than actual accident levels, with large numbers of injuries and fatalities simply not being recorded. However the country suffers from a series of serious issues such as poor driving skills, poor vehicle condition, poor road condition and poor safety measures. There is also an issue regarding mixed vehicle types on the nation's roads, with bicycles and carts hauled by animals using many of the same routes as trucks, cars and buses. Nor are safe crossings for pedestrians common. Until these issues can be properly addressed, the country’s annual road fatality rate is likely to continue to grow.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Cameras to nab speeding Kenya motorists
    May 9, 2013
    Motorists in Kenya have been put on notice that police will now firmly enforce regulations on speed limits. Traffic Commandant Samuel Kimaru said, after receiving ten speed cameras from the National Road Safety Trust, that speed has been a major cause of accidents and traffic police will now expand their operational areas. The Russian-made speed cameras record on a memory card the speed at which a vehicle is moving, the picture of the vehicle and area in which the data is captured.
    Read More
  • Russia looks to ITS to curb congestion and reduce accidents
    May 7, 2015
    Major ITS installations are planned as the Russian capital Moscow grapples with extensive traffic problems. At the end of 2014, Russia’s first complex intelligent transport system (ITS) started easing traffic problems in and around the capital Moscow, following the implementation of the plans by the federal government and the city’s authorities.
    Read More
  • High-res traffic data provides planners with the big picture
    November 5, 2015
    Road authorities have a lot to gain from high-resolution traffic data, argues Pravin Varaiya. Traffic engineers have traditionally been forced to operate with limited data regarding the performance of their arterials. Traffic studies are often commissioned once every three years, over a few days, to get an updated estimate of utilization.
    Read More
  • New Jersey announces new initiative to combat distracted driving
    April 7, 2017
    Responding to an eight percent spike in New Jersey traffic fatalities in 2016, largely attributable to increasing distracted driving, Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino and the Division of Highway Traffic Safety are announcing a new initiative to provide state residents with a method to report dangerous drivers in order to protect motorists and pedestrians. The state’s #77 alert system, previously used for reporting aggressive driving, will now be used to report all forms of dangerous driving, from
    Read More

Highlighted Content