India Sees One Road Accident-Related Death Every Four Minutes

Over 1 lakh people were killed on roads in India in 2015.

A bus pulled out of a ditch in Mumbai. Image used for representation. (Photo: AP)

In the past year, over 1 lakh people – 1,46,133 to be precise – were killed in road accidents, according to a report released by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on Friday. Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh top the list in the state-wise share of road accidents.

State-wise data of road accidents in 2015. (Photo: Rahul Gupta/The Quint)

Who Is Most Affected?

According to analysis of the report by Save Life Foundation, an NGO that works towards improving road safety in India, a two-wheeler rider is the most vulnerable to fatalities on the road. Peculiarly, the age-group most frequently affected is between 15 and 44, while males constituted nearly 82 percent of the fatalities in 2015.

If one were to break the figure down, it would mean that in 2015 alone, India lost almost the same number of people as the population of Shimla, said the NGO report.

It means that every four minutes, one person in India loses their life in a road accident.

Faulty Road Engineering?

According to the report, under the current Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 in India, road engineering and design is not identified as a cause of road crashes, and therefore “faulty road engineering” is not penalised.

Besides, road contractors are often not held accountable in the event of an accident resulting from poor road construction.

Following the death of Gopinath Munde in 2014, the Narendra Modi-led government, just appointed to power, promised to come into action and take cognisance of road safety in India.

Two years later, India seems to have recorded the highest deaths from road accidents. The number is the highest that India has ever recorded – a 53.96 percent increase over the last decade’s average, says the Save Life Foundation report.

Prior to releasing the report, Nitin Gadkari, the Minister for Road Transport and Highways and Shipping did not shy away from accepting criticism.

Let people criticise us, but I want to make the report public. Our two years of dedicated work and sincere efforts have resulted in not much change but we are committed to changing the scenario as I cannot allow this.

Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport and Highways and Shipping