A report on road accidents and related deaths in Delhi has surfaced, issued by the transport department of the Delhi government. According to this report, four people die in road accidents every day in Delhi.
What intensifies the worry is that the number of road accidents and related deaths has returned to pre-COVID levels. During the COVID years of 2020 and 2021, there was a decline in road accidents and fatalities. However, in 2022, the figures climbed back to the 2019 levels. Compared to 2021, there was a 28% rise in such fatal road accidents in 2022.
This report, named 'Delhi Road Crash Fatalities', provides data up to 2022. It highlights that in 2022, 1,517 lethal road accidents occurred in the capital, resulting in 1,571 fatalities. This means, on average, four people die in road accidents daily in Delhi.
The report uncovers that 50% of the people who died in road accidents were pedestrians. Meanwhile, 45% were either riding two-wheelers or three-wheelers. In total, 97% of deaths were of pedestrians, motorcyclists, cyclists, and auto-rickshaw passengers.
Source: aajtak
The Delhi government’s report shows that most victims of road accidents are men. In Delhi, 89% of the road accident fatalities are men. Furthermore, most of the deceased are young.
According to the report, the majority of those who lose their lives are between 20 and 39 years old. Of the deaths in 2022, 609 were in this age bracket.
The report points out that 81% of road accidents in Delhi involved heavy and light motor vehicles (LMVs). Meanwhile, 59% were hit-and-run cases. In hit-and-run incidents, 57% of the victims were pedestrians, followed by those on two-wheelers (33%).
Source: aajtak
As darkness falls, the number of road accidents spikes. The deadliest time is between 9 PM and 2 AM. Over 35% of the fatalities occur during this period. During these five hours, 521 deaths were recorded. It's when hit-and-run cases are at their peak, as drivers tend to speed in the night’s darkness.
Additionally, the most dangerous days regarding fatal road accidents are Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Most of the deaths (45%) in 2022 occurred on these three days, totaling 674 casualties.
Northern Delhi tops the charts in road accidents and hit-and-run cases. In 2022, 260 accidents occurred in this region, with 150 being hit-and-run cases. Conversely, north-east Delhi is the safest, with 53 accidents, 34 of which were hit-and-run incidents.
Source: aajtak
Are India's Roads the Worst?
According to a report by a London University, India's road quality ranks among the worst. Only 3% of Indian roads are national highways, while 75% of highways are just two lanes. Indian roads are highly congested, with 40% being dirty and over 30% of villages still lacking access to paved roads.
Last year, a World Bank report on road safety revealed that while India has just 1% of the world’s vehicles, it accounts for 11% of global road accidents. In other words, out of every 100 accidents worldwide, 11 happen in India.
The World Bank report stated that 150,000 people lose their lives in road accidents annually in India, while over 750,000 people are left disabled. Most of the victims are pedestrians or cyclists.
In 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) also released a report on road safety. According to 2016 data, most road accidents occur in the USA and Japan, but the highest fatalities are in India. In the USA, over 2.2 million road accidents resulted in 37,461 deaths. Meanwhile, in India, about 500,000 accidents caused over 150,000 deaths.
A Delhi government report indicates that in New York (USA), one out of every 30 road accidents is fatal. In Tokyo (Japan), one in 59 road accidents results in death. However, in Delhi, every fourth road accident is lethal.
The World Bank report highlights that over the last decade (2011-2020), India recorded more than 1.3 million deaths and over 5 million injuries due to road accidents.
