Road accidents in India kill 18 people every hour, injuring 44

Every hour 18 people die in road accidents in India. On the other hand, on average 44 people get injured in these accidents every hour.

The report titled 'India Road Accidents - 2021', says that major indicators related to accidents have performed better in 2021 compared to 2019. "Road accidents decreased by 8.1% and injuries decreased by 14.8% in 2021 compared to 2019.

According to the figures shared in the report, there were 4,12,432 accidents in 2021. About 1,53,972 unfortunate people were killed in these accidents, while 3,84,448 people were injured in one way or the other.

Significantly, this report is based on the data collected by the police departments of the states and union territories and the information received from them.

The report says: "These figures translate, on average, to 1,130 accidents and 422 deaths per day or 47 accidents and 18 deaths per hour in the country.

According to the report, in 2020, the country experienced an unprecedented decline in accidents, deaths and injuries. This was due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting strict national lockdown, particularly during March-April 2020, followed by the gradual unlocking and phasing out of containment measures, it said.

Ignoring traffic rules

16,397 people lost their lives in 2021 due to not wearing seat belts in the country. Of these, 8,438 were drivers while 7,959 were passengers. Likewise, in 2021, a total of 46,593 people have been victims of traffic accidents for not wearing a helmet.

Of these, 32,877 were two-wheeler drivers, while 13,716 were fellow travellers. Also, according to the report, in 2021, 93,763 people were injured from not wearing a helmet, while 39,231 people were injured from not wearing a seat belt.

Similarly, fatal traffic accidents increased by 17.7% in 2021, from 120,806 in 2020 to 142,163 in 2021. When observed, these fatal accidents accounted for 34.5% of all traffic accidents.

Traffic accidents increased

Similarly, fatal traffic accidents increased by 17.7% in 2021, from 120,806 in 2020 to 142,163 in 2021. When observed, these fatal accidents accounted for 34.5% of all traffic accidents. Not only this, the report revealed that people in the 18-45 age group were the most unlucky in terms of traffic accidents. In 2021, this age group accounted for about 67 per cent of the total fatalities in these accidents.

According to the report, both traffic accidents and accident-related homicides are more of a rural than an urban phenomenon.

The other main types of a collision causing death are 'hit and run' (16.8 per cent) and 'side-on' (11.9 per cent). The severity of traffic accidents measured by the number of people killed per 100 accidents increased from 36.0 in 2020 to 37.3 in 2021.

Highest crash severity

Mizoram (81) recorded the highest accident severity followed by Bihar (80) and Punjab (78). About 60 per cent of states have crash severity above the national average, according to the report.

Likewise, 46.9 per cent of the accidents occurred in open spaces without population. And 54.2 per cent of deaths and 46.9 per cent of injuries occurred in open areas, indicating that speed was much more lethal.

On the other hand, in terms of vehicles, two-wheeled drivers accounted for the largest share with 45.1 per cent of the total deaths in traffic accidents in 2021. After this, 18.9 per cent of the deaths in these accidents were pedestrians. This goes to show that even today, pedestrians and two-wheelers are not safe on the roads of India.

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